Prevalence of Extraesophageal Symptoms in Patients With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Multicenter Questionnaire-based Study in Korea

BACKGROUND/AIMS Many patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) also present with extraesophageal symptoms (EESs). This study sought to determine the prevalence of concomitant EESs and to evaluate quality of life (QOL) impairment in a Korean population with GERD. METHODS This questionnaire-based study was carried out from 64 hospitals in Korea between October 2008 and March 2009. Patients with typical GERD symptoms of heartburn or acid regurgitation were recruited for study. Participants filled out questionnaire consisting of GerdQ questions and EES questions. All participants underwent endoscopy and were divided into patients with erosive reflux disease (ERD) and with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD). RESULTS A total of 1,712 patients were included in this study. Of these, 697 (40.7%) patients had ERD and 1,015 (59.3%) NERD. The prevalence of EES was 90.3%. The most prevalent EES was epigastric burning (73.2%), followed by globus (51.8%), chest pain (48.4%), cough (32.0%), hoarseness (24.2%) and wheezing (17.3%). Individual EES was more prevalent in patients with ERD than in those with NERD. Regarding QOL, 701 patients (41.0%) had sleep disturbance and 676 (37.7%) had taken additional over-the-counter medication for heartburn and/or regurgitation, which were more prevalent in patients with ERD than in those with NERD (49.5% vs. 35.1% and 45.8% vs. 32.2%, respectively; all P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of EES is high in Korean patients with symptomatic GERD. Individual EES is more prevalent in patients with ERD than in those with NERD. QOL impairment is observed less frequently than previous studies.