Aim-To determine the prevalence of typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease in a large group of patients consulting their general practitioners(GP) for diverse reasons,as well as the quality-of-life(QoL) of patients with such symptoms.Patients and methods-During the same day,participating GPs(N = 3 200) systematically asked all of their patients about the presence of heartburn and regurgitation.For all patients who responded positively,the GPs filled in a questionnaire and the patient a specific QoL questionnaire.Results-Among 40 982 patients attending GP consultations,4 124(10.1%) had one or both symptoms.Prevalence was higher in men(11.1%) than in women(9.3 %,P < 0.001) ,and increased with age up to 50-59 yrs then slowly declined.Symptoms were present on a weekly basis in 72.8% of patients.Smoking,frequent or nocturnal occurrence of symptoms,regurgitation,and esophagitis were significantly linked up with a higher occurrence of extradigestive symptoms(cough,ENT symptoms,chest pain) .QoL declined with increasing frequency of symptoms,which especially affected food intake,psychology,well-being and daily life.Conclusion-In France,typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease are observed in 10% of the adult population,and markedly alter their QoL.
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