Risk factors for gastroesophageal reflux disease – the role of diet

Introduction: Nutrition can contribute to the development of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The relevant studies often provide contradictory results.

Aim: To determine GERD risk factors associated with dietary habits.

Material and methods: A total of 513 subjects were included. The study group consisted of adults with a recent clinically confirmed diagnosis of GERD, and the control group were healthy adults. The research tool was a proprietary questionnaire. Risk factors were evaluated by logistic regression models.

Results: An association was found between the severity of typical GERD symptoms and a certain diet (p < 0.001). The symptoms were experienced more often after fatty, fried, sour, or spicy food and sweets. The univariate logistic regression analysis showed the following risk factors: eating 1–2 meals per day (OR = 3.50, 95% CI: 1.75–6.98), everyday consumption of peppermint tea (OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.14–3.50), and eating one, big meal in the evening instead of dinner and supper (OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.05–3.11). The multivariate analysis confirmed that frequent peppermint tea consumption was a risk factor (OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.08–3.70).

Conclusions: Taking into consideration the results of this study, it seems that patients should be recommended to eat more than three meals a day and eat dinner and supper at appropriate times instead of one, big meal in the evening. The role of frequent peppermint tea consumption in GERD development requires further studies.