Acid Reflux Study Looks At Lifespan Of Sufferers

Main Category: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Also Included In: Acid Reflux / GERD
Article Date: 04 Jan 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), often known as acid reflux, is a common problem that has been associated with cancers, asthma, recurrent aspiration and pulmonary fibrosis. A new study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology examines whether GERD sufferers may have shorter lifespans than those without the disease.

Drawing on over 50,000 person-years of data, the study provides reassuring evidence that people with acid reflux symptoms do not have an increased risk of death, finding no difference in survival rates between sufferers and non-sufferers.

In fact, the study finds that people with infrequent acid reflux may actually have better survival rates than those with either daily symptoms, or none at all. "It may be that occasional reflux symptoms are a reflection of potential protective behaviors that are associated with reflux, such as regular exercise or modest amounts of alcohol ingestion," suggest Nicholas J. Talley and G. Richard Locke, III, co-authors of the study.

The study adds perspective to the risk of acid reflux symptoms. While there are a large number of acid reflux sufferers in the U.S., incidences of related cancer are extremely rare. "Although extraesophageal manifestations occur in some people with reflux disease, our results suggest that this disease is a benign condition in the vast majority of sufferers," say the authors.

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This study is published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Nicholas J. Talley, M.D., Ph.D., is Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Gastroenterology; a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine; and Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville.

G. Richard Locke, III, M.D., is a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine; Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine; and Consultant, Division of Health Care Policy & Research, Department of Health Sciences Research at the Mayo Clinic.

The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) was founded in 1932 to advance the scientific study and medical practice of diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The College promotes the highest standards in medical education and is guided by its commitment to meeting the individual and collective needs of clinical GI practitioners. For more information, please visit http://www.acg.gi.org/.

The American Journal of Gastroenterology is the official publication of the American College of Gastroenterology, and the #1 clinical journal in gastroenterology. The journal brings a broad-based, interdisciplinary approach to the study of gastroenterology, including articles reporting on current observations, research results, methods of treatment, drugs, epidemiology, and other topics relevant to clinical gastroenterology. For more information, please visit http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ajg.

Source: Sean Wagner
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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