Health-related quality of life in primary care patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease

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.