Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To describe the clinical characteristics and health-related quality of life of family medicine patients with clinically diagnosed gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
METHODS:
The study involved the baseline assessment of 268 patients enrolled in a randomized clinical trial comparing treatments for GERD. The study was conducted in a five-center, university-based family practice in southeastern West Virginia. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of GERD and who had not received treatment in the past 30 days were eligible; pregnant and lactating women and patients with severe renal or hepatic insufficiency were excluded.
RESULTS:
Two hundred sixty-eight patients were included in the analysis. Mean ± SD age was 44.9 ± 14.1 years; 61.2% were women and 91.4% were white. Mean ± SD body mass index was 30.3 ± 6 kg/m2, and >15.3% of patients had no insurance. One hundred seventy-four (64.9%) patients were enrolled from nonurban primary care clinics. One hundred sixty-four patients (61.2%) were prescribed at least one medication prior to study enrollment (mean ± SD 2.88 ± 1.71; range 1–9). When adjusted for age, gender, comorbidity status, and rural status, severity of GERD was associated with decreased health-related quality of life. GERD patients without comorbidity demonstrated decrements in health-related quality of life when compared with the US general population. When compared with another GERD population, the study patients reported fairly consistent GERD symptomatology and health-related quality of life.
CONCLUSIONS:
GERD symptom severity was associated with impaired health-related quality of life in a predominantly rural primary care population.
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