Prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in a large unselected general population in Japan

AIM:To examine the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms in a large unselected general population in Japan.METHODS:In Japan,mature adults are offered regular check-ups for the prevention of gastric cancer.A notice was sent by mail to all inhabitants aged＞40 years.A total of 160983 Japanese (60774 male,100209 female;mean age 61.9 years) who underwent a stomach check up were enrolled in this study.In addition,from these 160983 subjects,we randomly selected a total of 82894(34275 male,48619 female; mean age 62.4 years)to evaluate the prevalence of abdominal pain.The respective subjects were prospectively asked to complete questionnaires concerning the symptoms of heartburn,dysphagia,and abdominal pain for a 1 mo period.RESULTS:The respective prevalences of the symptoms in males and females were:heartburn,15.8% vs 20.7%;dysphagia,5.4% vs 7.8%; and abdominal pain,6.6%vs 9.6% .Among these symptoms,heartburn was significantly high compared with the other symptoms,and the prevalence of heartburn was significantly more frequent in females than in males in the 60-89-year age group.Dysphagia was also significantly more frequent in female patients.CONCLUSION:The prevalence of typical GERD symptoms (heartburn) was high,at about 20% of the Japan population,and the frequency was especially high in females in the 60-89 year age group.