Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Prevalence and its risk factors in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a global disease, and evidence suggests that its prevalence is increasing. Prevalence estimates show considerable geographic variation. According to WHO, prevalence of GERD in far EastAsia currently consistently lower than 10%, which is 8-20% in India. No such population based dataare available in Bangladesh. Thus, the studywas designed to determine the prevalence of GERD and its risk factors inrural community of Bangladesh. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried outfrom January to June 2015 by using validated questionnaire through door to door interview among randomly selected 2000 participants in a rural communityof Bangladesh. A cutoff point 3 was chosen as a valid and reliable scale to confirm GERD. Among the study participants, 1212 were male and 788 were female. Their average age range was 18 to 60 years. A total of 136 participants were found to have GERD symptoms and among them 43 were men and 93 were women. Thus, the prevalence of GERD in the study was 6.8%. GERD was highly associated with higher age group, women, Muslims, and participants with diabetes mellitus, asthma and overweight. Prevalence of GERD in rural community of Bangladesh is lower than that of the western world. For a better understanding on GERD, it is important that a study should be carried in a representative samples across Bangladesh.