Esophageal Hypervigilance and Visceral Anxiety Are Involved in Esophageal Symptom Perception in Patients with...

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) causes esophageal motility disorders. However, esophageal symptom severity often does not correlate with the physiological findings of high-resolution manometry (HRM) in patients with SSc. Esophageal hypervigilance and visceral anxiety play a relevant role in symptom perception in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease and esophageal motility disorders. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of anxiety and hypervigilance, along with HRM findings, on esophageal symptom severity in patients with SSc.

We reviewed the clinical data of consecutive patients with SSc who underwent HRM and were assessed using the esophageal hypervigilance and anxiety scale (EHAS) at our hospital between January 2022 and February 2025. Predictors for the Eckardt symptom score (ESS) and gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (GerdQ) were investigated.

This study included 51 patients with SSc. Significant differences were observed in EHAS scores between patients with ESS >3 and those with ESS ≤3 (34.0 [24.0-42.0] vs. 13.0 [1.0-24.0], p = 0.003), but not in HRM findings. The EHAS score accounted for 38.2% of the variance in the ESS score. Significant differences were also observed in the EHAS score between patients with GerdQ ≥8 and those with GerdQ <8 (26.0 [14.3-32.5] vs. 13.0 [0-22.0], p = 0.011). The combined factors of the EHAS score and absent contractility accounted for 17.3% of the variance in the GerdQ score.

Esophageal hypervigilance and anxiety may be involved in esophageal symptom severity, particularly dysphagia severity, in patients with SSc. Further studies involving interventions targeting these conditions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, are warranted.