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Gastroesophageal reflux disease

First Comprehensive Study on the Global, Regional Prevalence of GERD Is Published

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common and increasing in prevalence worldwide, though the epidemiology of the disease remains largely unchanged, according to a new comprehensive review.

This study is the first comprehensive report to evaluate the prevalence and health loss attributed to GERD by region and country, and throughout the world. It incorporates more data sources on the prevalence of GERD than previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

“… [We] used a modelling approach that adjusted for the effects of non-standard study designs on prevalence data,” the researchers wrote. “Even after these adjustments, [the report] generally confirmed the findings reported in previous studies …”

The researchers reviewed data from 195 nations and territories to estimate the prevalence of GERD and the years lost to disability due to nonfatal cases.

Between 1990 and 2017, the global age-standardized prevalence remained stable, at 8791 cases per 100,000 population in 1990 and 8819 cases per 100,000 population in 2017. However, the all-age prevalence of GERD had increased by 18.1%, and the prevalence of GERD worldwide showed its highest levels among individuals aged 75 to 79 years, at 18,820 cases per 100,000.

The researchers found the highest rates of age-standardized prevalence—more than 11,000 cases per 100,000—in:

  1. The United States,
  2. Italy,
  3. Greece,
  4. Eastern Europe,
  5. New Zealand,
  6. Some nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, and
  7. North Africa and the Middle East.

The prevalence rate was lowest, at fewer than 7000 cases per 100,000, in:

  1. The high-income Asia Pacific,
  2. East Asia,
  3. Iceland,
  4. France,
  5. Denmark, and
  6. Switzerland.

“[GERD] is common and increasing due to population ageing,” the researchers concluded. “Health-care systems should be prepared to address the needs of increasing numbers of patients with [GERD]. In some locations, there might be an increase in the prevalence of [GERD] beyond the increase due to age, but more research is required to determine whether this is true and, if so, what factors are driving this increase and what interventions might decrease the burden of [GERD].”

 

—Rebecca Mashaw

 

Reference:

GBD 2017 Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease Collaborators. The global, regional, and national burden of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol.

2020;5(6);561-581. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-1253(19)30408-X