Chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and quality of life in the Korean population.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the prevalence of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and their impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the Korean population.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey, using a reliable and valid Rome II based questionnaire, was performed on randomly selected residents, between 18 and 69 years in age. All respondents were interviewed at their homes or offices by a team of interviewers. The impact of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms on HRQOL was assessed using the Korean version of the 36-item Short-Form general health survey (SF-36).


RESULTS
Of the 1807 eligible subjects, 1417 (78.4%: male 762; female 655) were surveyed. Out of the respondents, 18.6% exhibited at least one chronic gastrointestinal symptom. The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), defined as heartburn and/or acid regurgitation experienced at least weekly, was 3.5% (95% CI, 2.6-4.5). The prevalence of uninvestigated dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic constipation based on Rome II criteria were 11.7% (95% CI, 10.1-13.5), 2.2% (95% CI, 1.5-3.1), and 2.6% (95% CI, 1.8-3.5) respectively. Compared with subjects without chronic gastrointestinal symptoms (n=1153), those with GERD (n=50), uninvestigated dyspepsia (n=166) and IBS (n=31) had significantly worse scores on most domains of the SF-36 scales.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of GERD, uninvestigated dyspepsia and IBS were 3.5%, 11.7% and 2.2% respectively, in the Korean population. The health-related quality of life was significantly impaired in subjects with GERD, uninvestigated dyspepsia and IBS in this community.
Jeong
Jeong-Jo
JJ
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, #137-040, 505, Banpo-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul 137-040, South Korea.
Choi
Myung-Gyu
MG
Cho
Young-Seok
YS
Lee
Seung-Geun
SG
Oh
Jung-Hwan
JH
Park
Jae-Myung
JM
Cho
Yu-Kyung
YK
Lee
In-Seok
IS
Kim
Sang-Woo
SW
Han
Sok-Won
SW
Choi
Kyu-Yong
KY
Chung
In-Sik
IS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003248:Constipation / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents