Intractable Belching as a Psychiatric Consequence: A Case Report

Belching is a common physiological occurrence, but it becomes bothersome when it occurs excessively and disrupts one's quality of life. It is hypothesized that psychiatric diagnoses may be an etiology and exacerbation for intractable belching.  Case presentation: We present a case report of a female in her 70s with a psychiatric history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with symptoms of intractable belching. This patient was diagnosed with supragastric belching (SGB), which is likely behaviorally induced as a result of her psychiatric comorbidities.

In patients presenting with intractable belching, along with other intractable somatic symptoms, psychiatric comorbidities should be considered as a possible etiology or contributing factor. Especially with known psychiatric comorbidities, patients should have maximized psychiatric treatment (including pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy) in order to be managed most effectively.