It seems that every other person I know is on either a proton pump inhibitor or some other form of acid reducer. I suspect that it’s mainly choice of diet (not for everyone) and the proliferation of ARD meds.
My GQ is, are increasing numbers of people becoming affected by this phenomenon (within the last few decades), are people just eating/drinking in a manner that would aggravate ARD, or is it just being noticed and diagnosed more frequently?
Just to establish a baseline of facts - All about Heartburn, Hiatal Hernia, and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) from the NIH.
We obviously run in different circles because I know of no one suffering from GERD. The hard part is finding objective statistics so as to not rely on anectdotal stories. What remains to be seen is whether the onslaught of acid reflux drug commercials are the result of a bonafide problem, or a marketing plan for drug companies by creating a need that statistically does not exist (at least at a level said companies may claim).
Where’s QtM?
As I think you suspect, it’s multifactorial (IMO).
The proliferation of safe, cheap, and effective drugs (eg. Losec, Prevacid, etc.) has made the disorder eminently treatable.
Only recently has it been appreciated that acid reflux may increase the likelihood of developing cancer of the esophagus (and thus that it merits “real” treatment).
It is now routine and convenient to undergo endoscopy (a look into the esophagus and stomach), so that the objective diagnosis of the disorder is on firmer ground.
Could this be related to the obesity epidemic? I’d never suffered from this, until I put on a load of weight…then it started happening. Just a data point, but the obesity epedemic is real.
Yes, obesity is also a factor
More importantly, the massive amount of advertising that’s pushing the drug on consumers.
Speaking as a GERD treater and sufferer, I’m grateful as hell for the fantastic remedies now available.
GERD has been a longstanding problem. References to it can be found in the writings of the greeks, along with proposed treatments. Today’s lifestyles with increased obesity along with use of alcohol and nicotine do make it more common, but I’ve treated people who are of ideal body weight, eat a sensible diet, and don’t smoke or drink, who still have significant symptoms.
I am working my way through the Merck manual for a contracting job, and I just finished the gastrointestinal chapter. Apparently a lot of people, especially nervous or stressed-out ones, have pain that appears to come from the esophagus (I have had this myself, actually), and assume that they are experiencing heartburn, when in fact they aren’t. Likewise, some people can have real acid reflux and not feel anything.
Crappy university medical centers probably shouldn’t be held up as the national standard for quality of medical treatment, but one of the university doctors was prepared to give me a prescription for Nexium or something like it, for this pain, without doing further tests to discover if I am actually having acid reflux.
On the other hand, a professional swallowing therapist I know thinks that doctors diagnose acid reflux whenever they don’t have anything else solid to go with, implying that at least part of the reason for a widespread incidence is that it’s fashionable right now.
Just my 2 cents.
Here in Germany commercials on drugs that require a prescription are forbidden. But GERD is still somewhat “epidemic” over here. So I doubt it has to do something with the commercials.
The diagnosis of GERD is fairly simple. You use an endoscope and look for an inflammation of the lower esophagus. The pain (heatburn) or bad breath or other symptoms are not sufficient to diagnose but they can point in the right direction.
I for myself “suffer” from GERD. But it is a comorbidity to the social phobia (social anxiety desease SAD) I actually suffer from. SAD makes my adrenaline levels raise even without real cause and they never return to normal levels. This irritates my stomach and hence over the years I developed GERD.
Smoking, stress, fat in the food, overweight, and so on, are also things that can lead to GERD, and all of them (except maybe smoking) become more and more common in modern society, hence the increase in number of GERD cases.
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The are recent reports that the increased prevalence of acid reflux and esophegal cancer may be due to the fact that helicobacter (the ulcer causing bacteria) is getting eradicated. Apparently one of the few benefits of helicobacter may be that it helps regulate stomache acid. Your choice - ulcers or cancer.
" Suspicion of an interaction between H. pylori and GERD stems from epidemiologic data showing that as the prevalence of H. Pylori decreased in Western societies, the prevalence of GERD and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus increased [1]."
from http://patients.uptodate.com/topic.asp?file=acidpep/11895
That’s me to a “T”. And I echo your sentiment about being extremely grateful for the remedies now available.
I find that acid reflux is made worse by onions & garlic. I have also noticed that onions and garlic are extremely prevalent in food that is trying to be both flavorful and healthy. For example, I used to cook extensively from Cooking Light magazine. Loved their recipes. But there are onions and garlic in almost everything except the desserts. And onions especially are used in huge quantities–like 2 to 3 cups in a recipe.
This next part is more speculative. Sometimes I find that if onions (or I suppose garlic) are less fresh, they are more potent and drive more potent heartburn. Could the quality of produce lying around in bins in America’s supermarkets have something to do with it?
I have found the exact same thing. I can not eat onions at all or I get sick. A couple of years ago I developed ulcers in the esphogus, I ended up not being able to swallow and went to the hospital. They told me I had acid reflux. I ended up on the meds for a year before figuring out that even with them I couldn’t eat anything with onions in it. I started just making my own food and have felt better ever since then. It would not suprise me one bit if people are eating way to many onions.