Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) refers to a common chronic headache in the gastrointestinal tract which is marked by heartburn and regurgitation. Symptoms are prevalent, severe and chronic, and they depend on the frequency of symptoms, the severity, and the chronicity, which determine the diagnosis and treatment results.
Purpose: To evaluate the incidence, intensity, and duration of symptoms of heartburn, regurgitation and other symptoms of GERD in adult patients in a tertiary care hospital in Chennai.
Procedures: A survey was carried out on 737 adults with the use of validated GERD-Q questionnaire. Symptom burden was assessed in six domains, namely heartburn, regurgitation, sleep disturbance, nausea, epigastric pain, and use of OTC medication. OpenEpi 3.0 was used to analyze the data.
Findings: The GERD prevalence (GERD-Q ≥8) was 40.8% prevalent. Sixty one percent reported heartburn, 52% regurgitation and 12.3% sleep disturbance (≥4 days/week). Others such as nausea (21.4%) and epigastric pain (14.5%) were also common. It was 11% regarding OTC medication use.
Summary: GERD symptoms are common, tend to be severe, and have a negative effect on everyday life. Timely intervention can be enhanced through routine use of validated symptom questionnaires to detect the problem early.
Keywords: GERD, Heartburn, Regurgitation, Symptom Severity, GERD-Q, India
How to cite this article: Gaddam AR, Chowdary R, Subramaniam SK, Gnanaprakash, Arvindraj R, Gopinath A, Symptom Burden of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Frequency, Severity, and Duration of Heartburn, Regurgitation, and Other Manifestations in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Chennai. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(1s): 231-236; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.1.24