Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Population-Based Study in Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi

Abstract

Objective: A population-based study to determine the prevalence of GERD as well as the correlation of symptoms of GERD with Gender.

Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Al-Tibri medical college and Hospital from November 2021 to November 2022.

Materials and Methods: 300 patients were selected for the study which took place in three different clinical settings. Data was obtained through non-probability sampling technique in which patients with a positive symptomatic history of gastroesophageal reflux disease were included after obtaining verbal consent from them. Data was collected through a validated adopted questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 with the Chi-square rest  being using for evaluation the correlation. The level of significance was set at P<0.05.

Results: In the study 59% were Male participants with a mean age of 42.34± 1.21, and 42% were female with a mean age of 49.64± 2.31. Most of the participants fall in the middle-class status. Male population showed a positive correlation and significant difference when correlated with symptoms of heart burn (p=0.035) and regurgitation (p=0.011), similarly significant difference was seen with the female population when correlated with heart burn (p=0.041) and regurgitation (p=0.057). Patients experienced symptoms of mild regurgitation the most (68%), while moderate level of heart burn (55%) was experienced in the sample size.

Conclusion: A positive association was observed between the presence of heartburn symptoms and regurgitation symptoms in patients diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irrespective of their gender.