Abstract

BACKGROUND
A high prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD) has been reported in diabetic patient. However, the exact mechanisms of GERD in diabetic patient have not been described. In several studies, diabetic neuropathy and dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system have been suggested as risk factors of GERD. However, there have been no studies on the exact prevalence or risk factors of GERD in Korean diabetic patients. Therefore, the prevalence of GERD in Korean diabetics patients was examined, and the risk factors for GERD, the differences in symptoms between GERD and non-GERD patients, and the degree of symptom relief after treatment were also analyzed. METHODS: A total of 310 diabetic patients, who underwent an upper gastroendoscopy due to diverse gastrointestinal symptoms, between April 2001 and November 2003, were enrolled. The diagnostic criteria or GERD included the upper gastroendoscopic view, which was analyzed using the scale of 'The Los Angeles Classification of Esophagus' from grades A to D. The prevalence and symptoms of GERD patients and the variable risk factors, such as blood glucose level, smoking and diabetic neuropathy, were examined. RESULTS: 1) There was an 18.4% prevalence of GERD in diabetic patients. 2) The clinical characteristics, including sex, age and serum lipid level, of the GERD group were not significantly different to those of the control group. However, the duration of smoking, the fasting and postprandial 2-hour serum glucose levels, and the diabetic neuropathy significantly affected GERD, 3) The main symptoms of the GERD group were dyspepsia(47.4%) and heart burn(26.3%). 4) The degree of subjective symptom relief in the GERD group after treatment with the proton pump inhibitor, pantoprazole(40mg), was remarkably lower than in the control group for approximately 1 month. CONCLUSION: In this study, the prevalence of GERD in diabetic patient was higher than that found in the general population which suggests that GERD in diabetic patient was due to a poorly controlled serum glucose level and diabetic neuropathy. The chief complaints pertaining to gastrointestinal symptoms in both study groups were non-specific. However, the recovery from symptoms in the GERD group was lower than the control group following drug therapy. The causes of the lower response rate in the GERD group will need to be examined in further studies.

• Keywords: Gastroesophageal reflux disease;Diabetes mellitus;Prevalence;Risk factor;