Prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease in a country with a high occurrence ofHelicobacter pylori

AIMTo evaluate the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with additional symptoms, relationship with Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori ) of this country-wide study. METHODSData from 3214 adults were obtained with validated questionnaire.Eight hundred and forty-one subjects were randomized to be tested for H. pylori via the urea breath test."Frequent symptoms" were defined heartburn and/or regurgitation occurring at least weekly. RESULTSThe prevalence of GERD was 22.8%, frequent and occasional heartburn were 9.3%-12.7%,regurgitation were 16.6%-18.7%,respectively.Body mass index (BMI) ≤ 18.5 showed a prevalence of 15%, BMI > 30 was 28.5%.The GERD prevalence was higher in women (26.2%) than men (18.9%) (P < 0001).Overall prevalence of H. pylori was 75.7%.The prevalence was 77.1% in subjects without symptoms vs 71.4% in subjects with GERD (χ 2 = 2.6, P = 0.27).Underprivileged with the lowest income people exhibit a higher risk.