[Burden of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Evidence from a recent methodological study in Spain]

The clinical and socioeconomic burden of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is considerable.

The aim of this study was to describe the impact of heartburn on patients' health-related quality of life (HRQL) in Spain, using validated generic and disease-specific instruments to measure patient-reported outcomes.

Patients with symptoms of heartburn completed the Spanish versions of the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), the Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia questionnaire (QOLRAD), the Short Form-36 (SF-36) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. The frequency and severity of heartburn in the previous 7 days were also recorded.

One hundred fifty-eight patients completed the assessments (mean age: 51 years, SD = 16; 58% female). Sixty-one percent of the patients had moderate symptoms and 73% had symptoms on three or more days in the previous week. Patients were most bothered by symptoms of reflux (mean GSRS score of 3.8 on a scale of 1 [not bothered] to 7 [very bothered]), abdominal pain (3.1) and indigestion (3.1). As a result of their symptoms, patients experienced problems with food and drink (mean QOLRAD score of 4.5 on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 represents the most severe impact on daily functioning), impaired vitality (4.7) and emotional distress (4.8). This led to impaired overall HRQL across all domains (mean SF-36 score of this heartburn population compared with a general population in Spain). The HAD scale showed that 28% of patients were anxious and 13% were depressed.

There is consistent evidence that GERD substantially impairs all aspects of HRQL.