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. 2024 Jul 11;19(7):e0306223.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306223. eCollection 2024.

Prevalence and risk factors of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Iran: A cross-sectional analysis from the PERSIAN cohort

Anahita Sadeghi  1 , Paria Boustani  1 , Ali Mehrpour  2 , Ali Ali Asgari  1 , Maryam Sharafkhah  1 , Abbas Yazdanbod  3 , Mohammad Hossein Somi  4 , Azim Nejatizadeh  5 , Farhad Moradpour  6 , Mehdi Rezaeian  7 , Fariborz Mansour-Ghanaei  8 , Arman Shahriari  9 , Mohammad Reza Fattahi  10 , Behrooz Hamzeh  11 , Seyed Vahid Hosseini  12 , Mahmood Kahnooji  13 , Ali Gohari  14 , Mohammadreza Khosravifarsani  15 , Hossein Azadeh  16 , Mohammad Reza Pashaei  17 , Eshagh Moradi Sheibani  18 , Hossein Fallahzadeh  19 , Alireza Bakhshipour  20 , Hossein Poustchi  1 , Reza Malekzadeh  1
Affiliations

Prevalence and risk factors of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Iran: A cross-sectional analysis from the PERSIAN cohort

Anahita Sadeghi et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: This study assessed the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in a general adult population in Iran. The association between GERD and various factors was also evaluated.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study on 163,018 individuals aged over 35 who were enrolled in the PERSIAN cohort. GERD was defined as the occurrence of heartburn and/or regurgitation symptoms at least several days a month. Survey design analysis for pooled data was performed and multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the independent risk factors for GERD.

Results: The prevalence of GERD in our study was estimated at 21.86% (95% confidence interval:17.4%-36.4%). The mean age of the participants was 49.84 years±9.25 (35-70) and 44.75% of the participants were male. Symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation were reported in 18.65% (n: 29,170) and 6.06% (n: 9,717) of participants, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, several factors were found to be associated with a higher prevalence of GERD: female sex, age >50, current smoking, opium use, weekly consumption of fried foods, frequent consumption of hot tea, less than 6 hours of sleep per night, psychiatric disorders, usage of NSAIDs, and poor oral hygiene, were associated with a higher prevalence of GERD. Conversely, higher education levels and average physical activity were found to be less commonly associated with GERD.

Conclusion: We found a relatively high prevalence of GERD (21.86%) in this population-based study in Iran. By identifying modifiable risk factors, this research offers opportunities for targeted interventions and lifestyle modifications to reduce the burden of GERD.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Prevalence of GERD in different cities of Iran.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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