Does Gastroesophageal Reflux Lead to Asthma Symptoms?

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and asthma are both very common diseases, occurring in approximately 40% and 6% of the population, respectively. Research in this area has focused on three questions(a) Is there a higher prevalence of GER in asthmatics than in the normal population? (b) Can asthma be induced in the laboratory setting by spontaneous or induced GER? and (c) Does treatment of GER ameliorate the symptoms of asthma? Most studies have found a higher prevalence of GER in asthmatics than in the normal population. However, studies attempting to show an induction of asthma symptoms by reflux, in a laboratory setting, have produced contradictory results. Nevertheless, a number have studies have suggested that effective treatment of GER leads to improvement in asthma symptoms in patients with evidence of both processes.