Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in students of a government medical college at Karachi

Objective: To assess the frequency of symptoms suggestive of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in students of a government medical college at Karachi. Methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted at Dow Medical College (from September to December 2008) through a well structured questionnaire meant to assess the typical and atypical manifestations of GERD in terms of frequency, consultation with physician and life style changes adopted to reduce the severity of symptoms. Results: Out of 595 students interviewed, 444 (74.6%) were female. Majority of them were aged between 17-25 years. Abdominal discomfort ever developed in 288/595 (48.4%) students out of which 132/595 (22.18%) students complained of heartburn. Weekly episodes of heartburn were present in 35/444 (7.88%) female students and 10/151 (6.62%) male students. Dysphagia was present in 88/595 (14.8%) students, 9/88 (10.22%) of which also suffered weekly from heart burn. Overall 109/595 (18.3%) students, comprising of 82/444 (18.5%) female and 27/151 (17.9%) male, exhibited breathing problems. Weekly presentation of heartburn was also prevalent in 13/109 (11.92%) students who suffered from breathing problems. Conclusion: The study concludes that the percentage of students having weekly episodes of heart burn is significantly higher than that in general Asian population. The atypical symptoms of GERD are also found to be more prevalent among medical students.