Epidemiology and natural history of gastro-esophageal reflux disease.

Epidemiology and natural history of gastro-esophageal reflux disease. Minerva Gastroenterol Dietol. 2017 Feb 17;: Authors: Savarino E, Marabotto E, Bodini G, Pellegatta G, Coppo C, Giambruno E, Brunacci M, Zentilin P, Savarino V Abstract Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is highly prevalent in Western countries, particularly when considering its most classic symptom, that is heartburn. This symptom is very frequent in the community and ranges from 10% to more than 30%, according to the various population-based studies. This disease is much more represented in Europe and US than in Asiatic countries. It has been shown that GERD prevalence increases in parallel with the remarkable growth of obesity, as this condition is able to favor all the pathogenetic mechanisms leading to it. Current information regarding the phenotypic presentation of GERD shows that there are two main phenotypic manifestations, that are erosive reflux disease (ERD) and non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) and the latter includes the majority of patients (up to 70%). The major complication of GERD is the development of Barrett esophagus, a pre-malignant lesion potentially leading to esophageal adenocarcinoma. Data from medical literature on the natural history of this disease are scant and mainly retrospective, so the interpretation of them is very difficult. However, they seem to suggest that both NERD and mild esophagitis tend to remain as such over time and t...
Source: Minerva Gastroenterologica e Dietologica - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: Minerva Gastroenterol Dietol Source Type: research