Dietary intake and risk for reflux esophagitis: a case-control study

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Nutritional Science
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) associations with diet are established in Western populations.
• Dietary component links to GERD in the Chinese population remain largely uncharacterized.
• Reflux esophagitis (RE) is a common manifestation of GERD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between specific dietary components and the risk of reflux esophagitis (RE) in a Chinese cohort.
• To identify dietary factors that may increase or decrease RE risk.

Main Methods:

• Case-control study involving 268 newly diagnosed RE patients and 269 matched controls.
• Dietary intake assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) over the previous year.
• Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis performed after adjusting for confounding factors.

Main Results:

• Positive dose-response relationship observed between RE and intake of calcium, meat, oils, and salt.
• Negative dose-response relationship observed between RE and intake of protein, carbohydrate, vitamin C, grains, potatoes, fruits, and eggs.
• Adjustments made for waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, total energy intake, and demographics.

Conclusions:

• High consumption of meat, oils, salt, and calcium is linked to increased RE risk in Chinese adults.
• Higher intake of protein, carbohydrates, vitamin C, grains, potatoes, fruits, and eggs is associated with reduced RE risk.
• Dietary modification may play a role in managing and preventing RE in this population.