Gastroesophageal reflux disease and risk factors in schoolchildren

Aim. To study the association between family predisposition to gastrointestinal diseases with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in schoolchildren in ethnic populations of Tuva. Material and methods. A total of one thousand seventy nine children (761 Mongoloid-Tuvinian and 318 Caucasian) aged of 7–17 years in the Republic of Tyva were examined. Anamnestic data and information on gastrointestinal complaints in schoolchildren were obtained. The diagnostic criterion for GERD was complaints of weekly heartburn. Statistical analysis was performed using the Pearson chi-square test. Results. GERD children more often had anamnestic data on gastritis (p = 0.025), gastric ulcer (p = 0.039) and oncological diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (p = 0.052) in parents. At the same time, schoolchildren of the indigenous population with GERD manifestations had greater unfavourable conditions for a number of diseases in parents: gastritis (p = 0.01), gastric ulcer (p = 0.012). Whereas in Caucasians, a similar association was not established. The association between GERD in schoolchildren and gastrointestinal pathology in grandparents (2nd degree of kinship) also concerned only Tuvans in the presence of gastritis (p = 0.023). Summary data on family history of gastrointestinal diseases (1st and 2nd generation relatives) in GERD children, as expected, prevailed in Tuvans (gastritis (p = 0.004), peptic ulcer (p = 0.033) and specifically gastric ulcer (p = 0.02)). A more negative association between GERD in Tuvan children and a family predisposition to gastrointestinal diseases, in contrast to Caucasians, may be due to a higher prevalence of a number of gastrointestinal diseases in adults and is related with the functional features of the system, formed under the influence of the features of traditional life and nutrition. Conclusion. In the Republic of Tyva, GERD in native schoolchildren is associated with a wide range of gastrointestinal diseases in relatives.