GERD as a Societal Burden

Friday June 20, 2008

People who suffer from GERD lose an average of 2.4 hours of work per week.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a common condition that can have pronounced affects on a patient's health-related quality of life and daily activities. They also experience decreased work productivity and increased absenteeism.

Researchers analyzed data from the 2004 National Health and Wellness Survey where 10,028 respondents who reported having been diagnosed with GERD were matched by age and sex with survey takers who had not been diagnosed with GERD. When compared with controls, the GERD patients had significantly more accompanying diseases and worse physical and mental health scores on the Short-Form Health Survey. They also missed more hours of work per week (approximately one hour) and had a 7.5% reduction in productivity, as reported on the Work Productivity Impairment questionnaire. When this information is considered together, these two factors resulted in an average of 2.4 hours of lost work per week. Also, the use of health care resources, such as doctor visits, emergency room visits, and hospital stays, increased significantly in GERD patients. The use of these health care resources increased when GERD symptoms increased in frequency or became more severe.

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