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GERD patients did not adhere to recommended dietary guidelines
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Patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease were as or more likely to consume reflux-triggering foods than controls, according to new research data.
To determine if patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) followed recommended dietary guidelines, and if adherence improved symptom severity and frequency, researchers performed a cross-sectional study comparing 308 GERD patients with 182 asymptomatic controls at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between 2002 and 2005. Dietary intake was evaluated using a validated food frequency questionnaire and referencing the American College of Gastroenterology’s dietary guidelines for GERD patients.
Adjusting for smoking and education, researchers found that GERD patients with frequent and severe symptoms were twice as likely to consume soft drinks (OR=1.98; 95% CI, 1.18-3.31) or tea (OR=2.16; 95% CI, 1.15-4.03) compared with controls. By contrast, GERD patients were nearly half as likely to drink beer (OR=0.54; 95% CI; 0.31-0.96), and there was an inverse association between symptom severity and alcohol consumption.
Patients with severe GERD symptoms, however, were 50% more likely to drink liquor compared with controls (OR=1.5; 95% CI, 0.85-2.66). Furthermore, they found that patients with severe or frequent GERD symptoms were less likely to consume citrus compared with controls (OR=0.62; 95% CI, 0.41-0.94; OR=0.62; 95% CI, 0.4-0.98, respectively). Patients with severe symptoms also had higher fat intake overall (OR=1.77; 95% CI, 1.07-2.93), and those with frequent symptoms were twice as likely to eat fried foods (OR=2.1; 95% CI, 1.19-3.7).
“We found that while GERD patients, consistent with dietary recommendations, are less likely to consume citrus and certain types of alcohol, they were more likely to consume soft drinks, tea and fatty foods than asymptomatic controls,” the researchers said. “The results suggest that GERD patients do avoid some, but not all, of the foods commonly thought to worsen GERD symptoms.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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