Smoking and gastro-oesophageal reflux.
Gastro-oesophageal sphincter pressure and intraoesophageal pH has been studied in 25 chronic smokers who complained of heartburn. Smoking a cigarette invariably caused a fall in sphincter pressure, and pH measurements showed an increased tendency for reflux to occur while smoking. When lower oesophageal pH was measured overnight one-third of all reflux episodes occurred while the patients were smoking, and reflux was seen during the smoking of two-thirds of all the cigarettes consumed. It is concluded that cigarette smoking is a common reversible cause of gastro-oesophageal reflux.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004947:Esophagus / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007441:Intubation, Gastrointestinal; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011312:Pressure; D012907:Smoking / Q000150:complications*; D013270:Stomach / Q000502:physiology