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Nocturnal Heartburn and Acid Regurgitation Linked to Higher GERD Severity Scores: Presented at ACG By Paula Moyer LAS VEGAS, NV -- October 30, 2006 -- Nocturnal heartburn and acid regurgitation are associated more severe gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), according to a team of investigators who presented their findings here at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting (ACG). "Patients with nocturnal heartburn and acid regurgitation have higher disease severity scores than those who do not," according to principal investigator Lawrence F. Johnson, MD, professor of medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama. Because these symptoms occur in 70% of patients with GERD, and because 14% to 20% of people within the United States have GERD, the investigators wanted to see the impact on disease severity of nocturnal symptoms. Therefore, they conducted the study to see the impact on disease severity of nocturnal GERD. The investigators recruited 18,213 candidates, of whom 2,603 were found to be eligible. Among these, 668 screened positive for GERD, in that they had symptoms within the past 3 months. Within this subset, 303 (45%) met the criteria for nocturnal heartburn and regurgitation. The 668 subjects responded to the GERD Symptom and Medication Questionnaire (GERD-SMQ). The GERD-SMQ consists of several questions, and the responses are assigned scores. The total score determines the level of severity; the higher the score, the more severe the disease. The investigators found that patients with nocturnal GERD had higher scores than those with daytime GERD (P < .0001). In his presentation on October 23rd Dr. Johnson noted that 33% of nocturnal symptoms were severe compared with less than 9% of daytime symptoms. He added, "the odds of having moderate GERD symptoms as opposed to mild symptoms were 2.1 times greater among those with nocturnal compared with daytime GERD." Similarly, the odds of having severe GERD as opposed to mild GERD were 8 times greater for patients with nocturnal symptoms compared with daytime symptoms. These findings indicate that nocturnal GERD may be associated with a higher disease burden than daytime GERD, and because nocturnal GERD is a common constellation of symptoms in a common disease, the findings give an indication of the high burden of illness associated with GERD, he said. [Presentation title: Frequent Nocturnal Complaints of Heartburn and Acid Regurgitation Are Associated With Higher GERD Severity Scores. Abstract 682] E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version