title: Arm span-height difference is correlated with gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in aged Japanese subjects.
abstract: Previous studies have indicated an association between the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and aging plus height. In this study we investigated whether the arm span-height difference was related to GERD symptoms with a focus on aged subjects in the general population, since the arm span reflects the height in young adulthood before decreasing due to vertebral deformities from aging. A total of 285 elderly individuals (105 females) who visited nursing homes for the elderly in Japan were enrolled in this study. The GERD symptoms were evaluated by the Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of GERD (FSSG). The body weight, height and arm span were measured, and information regarding medications and complications were reviewed in each nursing record. 50.5% of women had more than 3 cm of arm span-height difference. In contrast, only 37.3% of men had more than 3 cm of arm span-height difference. The FSSG scores indicated more than 70% of subjects complained of any GERD symptoms. There was a significant correlation between the FSSG score and the arm span-height difference in the subjects with more than 3 cm of arm span-height difference (r = 0.236; p = 0.012). The correlation between the arm span-height difference and the FSSG score was significant only in women in females in the present study. In conclusion, our findings indicate that vertebral deformity evaluated by the arm span-height difference might have some positive relationship to the pathogenesis of GERD symptoms in elderly Japanese individuals.
authors: Department of General Medicine, Saga Medical School, 5-1-1 Nabeshima, Saga, Saga 849-8501, Japan.
authors: Hitoshi
authors: H
authors: Eguchi
authors: Yuichiro
authors: Y
authors: Eguchi
authors: Motoshi
authors: M
authors: Fujiwara
authors: Midori
authors: M
authors: Nishii
authors: Yoshinori
authors: Y
authors: Tokushima
authors: Naoko
authors: N
authors: Eguchi
authors: Masaki
authors: M
authors: Tago
authors: Yuta
authors: Y
authors: Sakanishi
authors: Motosuke
authors: M
authors: Tomonaga
authors: Tsuneaki
authors: T
authors: Yoshioka
authors: Masaki
authors: M
authors: Hyakutake
authors: Sei
authors: S
authors: Emura
authors: Shunzo
authors: S
authors: Koizumi
authors: Ryuichi
authors: R
authors: Iwakiri
authors: Genichiro
authors: G
authors: Edakuni
authors: Masamichi
authors: M
authors: Oda
authors: Katsuma
authors: K
authors: Hiramatsu
authors: Kazuma
authors: K
authors: Fujimoto
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Sugioka
authors: Shuichi
authors: S
authors: Yamashita
keywords: aging; kyphosis; orthopedics; sex difference; vertebral deformities