Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption associated with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in Japanese men.
BACKGROUND
Associations between lifestyle factors and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) have been conflicting. We aimed to examine these associations in Japanese men.


METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional study of Japanese male workers who visit a clinic for a routine health check-up and asked them to fill out a self-report questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for GORD, defined as heartburn and/or acid regurgitation at least twice weekly.


RESULTS
Of the 4095 eligible subjects, 276 (6.7%) were diagnosed as having GORD. Current smoking was significantly associated with CORD compared with non-smoking (OR = 1.35, 95% CI, 1.01-1.82). Moderate drinking (16-37 mL/day) and heavy drinking (> or = 38 mL/day) were also associated with GORD, while age and body mass index were not. After adjustment for age, daily alcohol consumption and body mass index, an increase in number of pack-years of cigarette smoking was significantly associated with an increased OR of GORD (P for trend = 0.034), and the OR for persons whose number of pack-years of cigarette smoking was more than 20.1 was 1.45 (CI 1.04-2.04) compared with non-smokers.


CONCLUSIONS
Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are associated with an increased odds ratio for GORD in Japanese men.
Watanabe
Y
Y
Dept. of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Fujiwara
Y
Y
Shiba
M
M
Watanabe
T
T
Tominaga
K
K
Oshitani
N
N
Matsumoto
T
T
Nishikawa
H
H
Higuchi
K
K
Arakawa
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*