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. 2019 Jun 2;34(21):e158.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2019.34.e158.

Gender Specific Differences in Prevalence and Risk Factors for Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease

Sang Yoon Kim  1 , Hye Kyung Jung  2 , Jiyoung Lim  1 , Tae Oh Kim  1 , A Reum Choe  1 , Chung Hyun Tae  1 , Ki Nam Shim  1 , Chang Mo Moon  1 , Seong Eun Kim  1 , Sung Ae Jung  1
Affiliations

Gender Specific Differences in Prevalence and Risk Factors for Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease

Sang Yoon Kim et al. J Korean Med Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Gender-related factors might play an important role in the development of reflux esophagitis (RE) and symptomatic gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for RE and symptomatic GERD and determine whether gender specific differences exist.

Methods: This study was conducted on a health cohort consisting of 10,158 participants who underwent comprehensive health screening. Lifestyles and gastrointestinal symptoms were investigated using a self-reported structured questionnaire. Questionnaires about menstrual status were added for the women.

Results: The prevalence of RE in men was significantly higher than that in women (10.6% vs. 2.0%, P < 0.001); however, symptomatic GERD showed predominance in women (6.2% vs. 2.5%, P < 0.001). Although the prevalence of RE gradually increased with the duration of menopause stratified by decade (P = 0.007), that of symptomatic GERD rapidly increased across the menopausal transit in women. Apart from common risk factors of obesity and current smoking for RE, over 70 years of age in women and hiatal hernia and hypertriglyceridemia in men were significant risk factors. In symptomatic GERD, high somatization was a common risk factor. Excessive alcohol drinking was a significant risk factor in men, but not in women.

Conclusion: This study showed a predominance of RE in men, but a predominance of symptomatic GERD in women. In women, dynamic increase in the prevalence of GERD is closely related to the menopause conditions and its duration. There are specific risk factors for RE and symptomatic GERD according to gender differences.

Keywords: Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease; Gender Distribution; Menopause; Prevalence; Risk Factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest of disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Prevalence of RE and symptomatic GERD by gender and age. (A) Prevalence of RE. (B) Prevalence of symptomatic GERD. Blue bars indicate men and red bars indicate women participants.
RE = reflux esophagitis, GERD = gastro-esophageal reflux disease.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Prevalence of RE and symptomatic GERD with BMI according to duration of menopause. Blue line indicates symptomatic GERD, red line indicates RE, and dotted green line indicates BMI.
RE = reflux esophagitis, GERD = gastro-esophageal reflux disease, BMI = body mass index.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Presentation of Korean version of the EQ-5D by gender and age. (A) Total participants. (B) Participants with RE. (C) Participants with Sym-GERD. Blue line indicates man and red line indicates woman participants.
EQ-5D = EuroQol-5 dimension, RE = reflux esophagitis, Sym-GERD = symptomatic gastro-esophageal reflux disease, GERD = gastro-esophageal reflux disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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