To study prevalence and characteristics of symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease in the elderly.
Survey by questionnaire of stratified random sample.
City of Turku, Finland.
Population-based random sample consisting of non-institutionalized subjects aged 65 years or over. A questionnaire was sent to 559 subjects. The response rate was 92%. Twenty-nine incompletely filled forms were rejected. Thus, the questionnaires from 487 subjects, representing 87% of the original number, constitute the basis for the study.
The questionnaire inquired about the following symptoms: heartburn, regurgitation, chest pain, dysphagia, dyspepsia, respiratory symptoms, vomiting, and belching.
The age-adjusted prevalence of daily symptoms suggestive of gastroesophageal reflux disease was 8% in men and 15% in women (P