Psychosocial determinants of gastroesophageal reflux disease

Introduction: Nowadays GERD is becoming a common problem in our society. Various factors are found to be associated with the increased incidence of this disorder. Objectives: To determine the association between various factors and the role they play in the development of GERD Design: It is population based case control study. Place and duration: The study was carried out randomly in urban Lahore from 8th of May to 8th of June, 2008. Subjects and methods: Fifty GERD patients were randomly selected from Lahore urban population along with fifty controls. Interviews were conducted after obtaining consent from the interviewee with the help of a pretested questionnaire. Data was collected, compiled and analyzed through SPSS to determine the association. Result: Mostly GERD patients were economically poor, under-matric, excessive use of table salt (OR=0.188, CI=0.046-0.773) was found to be the most significant in development of GERD. fatty diet, carbonated drinks, smoking, lack of exercise, spicy food, sleeping on left side, eating between meals, coffee, taking rest after meals, tight clothing, beetle nut, weight loss and eating chocolate, using painkillers, taking unnecessary medication, sleeping with head end raised exhibited a statistically significant relationship with the GERD. Conclusion: GERD is an increasing health problem in our society and lifestyle changes are essential to prevent it.