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. 2021 Nov 12:14:4619-4625.
doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S335142. eCollection 2021.

Assessing the Frequency and Risk Factors Associated with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Fawad Rasool  1 , Rimsha Sarwar  1 , Muhammad Subhan Arshad  1   2 , Imran Imran  3 , Hamid Saeed  4 , Abdul Majeed  1 , Muqarrab Akbar  5 , Muhammad Omer Chaudhry  6 , Anees Ur Rehman  1 , Waseem Ashraf  3 , Tanveer Ahmad  7 , Waleed Badoghaish  8 , Faleh Alqahtani  9
Affiliations

Assessing the Frequency and Risk Factors Associated with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Fawad Rasool et al. Risk Manag Healthc Policy. .

Abstract

Purpose: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a highly prevalent gastrointestinal disorder with modifiable risk factors and it is associated with considerable health and economic burden. The current study was conducted to assess the frequency and risk factors related to GERD in the previously unstudied population of Southern Punjab, Pakistan.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted for assessing the frequency and risk factors of GERD by using a self-administered questionnaire. The gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (GerdQ) was utilized to detect the presence of the disease.

Results: The study included 308 participants; among them, 55.2% were female and 44.8% were male. The participants diagnosed with GERD (GerdQ score ≥8) were 26.6%. The various risk factors like higher BMI, past disease and smoking history, frequent use of NSAIDs, soft drinks, pickles, and spicy foods were significantly associated with GERD.

Conclusion: The present study showed that GERD is prevalent in Southern Punjab and is associated with various modifiable risk factors. The ascendance of GERD can be prevented by public health education and awareness campaigns.

Keywords: GERD; Southern Punjab; gastroesophageal reflux; risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

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