Influence of eating habits on formation and course of gastroesophageal reflux disease variants in young persons

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common disease among young patients, significantly affecting their quality of life. The main triggers of heartburn, a characteristic symptom of GERD, are eating habits and behavioral characteristics, especially skipping meals, eating at night, frequent snacks, excessive consumption of fatty, salty, and spicy foods, carbonated drinks, caffeine, etc. Objective — to assess the impact of dietary habits on the clinical features and quality of life indicators in young patients with erosive and non‑erosive forms of GERD using a self‑developed questionnaire «Assessment of dietary and lifestyle characteristics of patients with heartburn» and to study the possible relationship of various questionnaire indicators with data from clinical and instrumental examination methods. Materials and methods. 150 young patients aged 18 to 45 years suffering from GERD were examined. All patients underwent anthropometric studies, calculation of body mass index (BMI), and upper endoscopy. According to the examination results, two groups were formed: Group I — 75 patients with erosive GERD and Group II — 75 patients with non‑erosive GERD, not associated with H. pylori. The control group consisted of 20 practically healthy individuals. Three groups of people were interviewed using a self‑developed questionnaire, «Assessment of dietary and lifestyle characteristics of patients with heartburn», to determine the characteristics of eating habits and dietary disorders. The presence of weight gain over the past 6 months, the frequency of snacks, overeating, nighttime meals, salting, the frequency of consumption of certain food groups, etc. were assessed. Results. For the development of both variants of GERD, the following factors are significant: an increase in BMI of more than 25 kg/m2 and the status of «married» or living with a partner (for erosive GERD p <0.0001 and p=0.02; for non‑erosive — p=0.0008 and p=0.003, respectively); having more than two snacks during the day (p=0.03); the habit of eating at night and a tendency to night snacks (p=0.03). Conclusions. Changing eating habits, such as including breakfast in the diet, taking meals longer than 15 minutes, reducing the number of snacks, avoiding late dinners, etc., can reduce GERD symptoms and improve the quality of life of young patients. Lifestyle modifications, such as physical activity at least twice a week and normalizing body weight, are crucial factors for the long‑term control of GERD symptoms and improving the quality of life of young patients.