Gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms and associated factors among university students in Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2021: a cross-sectional study

BMC Gastroenterology Belete et al. BMC Gastroenterology (2023) 23:130 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-023-02758-8 Open Access RESEARCH Gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms and associated factors among university students in Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2021: a cross-sectional study Mekonnen Belete1*, Winta Tesfaye2, Yonas Akalu2, Adugnaw Adane4 and Yigizie Yeshaw2,3 Abstract Introduction Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptom is a relapsing chronic medical condition resulting from the reflux of gastric acid contents into the esophagus and throat or mouth. It interferes with social functioning, sleep, productivity, and quality of life. Despite this, the magnitude of GERD symptoms is not known in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated factors of GERD symptoms among university students in the Amhara national regional state. Methods An institutional-based cross-sectional study was employed in Amhara national regional state Universities, from April 1, 2021, to May 1, 2021. Eight hundred and forty-six students were included in the study. A stratified multistage sampling technique was employed. Data were collected by using a pretested self-administered questionnaire. Data were entered via Epi Data version 4.6.0.5 and analyzed by SPSS version-26 software. The bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used to determine the associated factors of GERD symptoms. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. Variables having a p-value of ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results The prevalence of GERD symptoms in this study was 32.1% (95% CI = 28.7–35.5%). Being in the age of 20–25 years (AOR = 1.74, 95%CI = 1.03–2.94), female (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.15–2.41), use of antipain (AOR = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.65–3.69) and soft drinks (AOR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.13–2.20) were significantly associated with higher odds of GERD symptoms. Urban dwellers had less chance of having GERD symptoms (AOR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.48–0.94). Conclusion Nearly one-third of university students are affected by GERD symptoms. Age, sex, residence, use of antipain, and consumption of soft drinks were significantly associated with GERD. Reducing modifiable risk factors such as antipain use and soft drink consumption among students is advisable to decrease the disease burden. Keywords GERD, GERD symptoms, University students, Amhara, Ethiopia *Correspondence: Mekonnen Belete 1 Department of Human Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia 2 Department of Human Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia 3 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia 4 Department of Human Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Belete et al. BMC Gastroenterology (2023) 23:130 Introduction Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic medical condition resulting from the reflux of gastric acid contents into the esophagus and throat or mouth to cause distressing symptoms /complications [1, 2]. It also develops due to sensorimotor disorder associated with impairment of the normal anti-reflux mechanisms and with changes in normal physiology [3]. The pooled global prevalence of GERD is 14% [4]. This magnitude varies by region, ranging from 2.5 to 33.1%, in North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and South America population [5]. The prevalence of GERD ranges from 11.8 to 52.6% among university students [6–13]. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a potentially serious condition with risks of complications like stricture of the esophagus, Barrett’s esophagus (pre-cancerous lesion), and malignancy, [14] and could be turned into a life-threatening disease [15]. It had extra-esophageal complications such as chronic cough, chronic laryngitis, asthma, and dental erosions [2]. Due to its chronic pain, and persistent and disruptive symptoms, GERD can impair physical and mental health-related quality of life, workplace productivity (daily tasks), social function, sleep, and diet, as well as cause anxiety and depression [7, 10, 16, 17]. Gastroesophageal reflux disease can cause an economic burden due to the disease’s diagnostic and therapeutic management [11]. Heartburn, regurgitation of food, vomiting, and regurgitation during sleep [18] are the most common symptoms of GERD. Based on these symptoms, a clinical diagnosis of GERD could be made [19]. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, dietary, and behavioral, as well as psychological factors, are associated with GERD [4, 19–23]. These were sex, age, residence, [7, 11, 18, 19, 24–32] sleeping within 1 h of dinner [8, 20, 24]. Consumption of caffeinated and soft drinks, [8, 9, 18, 24, 33–43] and types of food consumption [8, 35, 37–39, 41–44]. Inadequate sleep, [7, 20] smoking, [8, 11, 19, 23– 25, 28, 31, 36, 40, 41, 44–47] history of use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or analgesics, [20, 21, 28, 32, 35, 45, 47–50], and alcohol consumption, [19, 20, 23, 39, 40, 46, 51] were associated with GERD symptoms. Even though GERD symptoms can negatively impact one’s quality of life, daily tasks, and the country’s economy by requiring the purchase of medication to alleviate GERD symptoms in university students, the burden of GERD symptoms in Ethiopian university students has not been quantified. As a result, this research aimed to assess the prevalence of GERD symptoms and its associated factors among university students in Ethiopia’s Amhara area. Stakeholders will use the outcomes of this study to develop illness prevention, care, and early treatment methods. Page 2 of 9 (...truncated)