PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE (GERD) IN ADULT KASHMIRI POPULATION

Objective: The study was conducted with the objective of studying the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and to study various factors associated with it in adult Kashmiri population.Methods: It was a community based prospective cross-sectional observational study conducted by the Department of Medicine and Gastroenterology, GMC Srinagar over a period of 24 mo upon native Kashmiris from urban as well as rural areas as a study group. A total of 2600 subjects above the age of 18 y were studied and the overall prevalence of disease was calculated and also the associated (risk) factors were looked for.Results: The overall prevalence of 20.3% was seen in the study population with female gender being more prone to the development of disease (p