Prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
Epidemiological studies have shown that 10-48% of people in developed countries have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms such as heartburn and acid regurgitation. The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of GERD symptoms and GERD in Japanese subjects.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study of Japanese subjects who visited a clinic for a routine health check up was carried out. Subjects were asked to fill out a self-report questionnaire. GERD was defined as the presence of heartburn and/or acid regurgitation at least twice per week.


RESULTS
Of the 6035 eligible subjects, 2662 (44.1%) reported having had heartburn and/or acid regurgitation during the past year: 124 (2.1%) daily, 275 (4.6%) twice per week, 773 (12.8%) twice per month and 1490 (24.7%) less than twice per month. Three hundred and ninety-nine (6.6%) subjects were diagnosed as having GERD and there was no relationship between the prevalence of GERD and either sex or age. The prevalence of bothersome GERD symptoms was significantly higher in subjects with GERD than in those without GERD.


CONCLUSIONS
Approximately 6.6% of Japanese have GERD and most persons with GERD described heartburn or acid regurgitation as bothersome.
Fujiwara
Yasuhiro
Y
Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. yasu@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Higuchi
Kazuhide
K
Watanabe
Yoko
Y
Shiba
Masatsugu
M
Watanabe
Toshio
T
Tominaga
Kazunari
K
Oshitani
Nobuhide
N
Matsumoto
Takayuki
T
Nishikawa
Hideki
H
Arakawa
Tetsuo
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires