Table 1 Characteristics of participating patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), by country of residence
Germany | Greece | Norway | Spain | Sweden | UK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of patients | 495 | 505 | 525 | 477 | 368 | 308 |
Women, n (%) | 295 (59.6) | 265 (52.5) | 303 (57.7) | 280 (58.7) | 223 (60.6) | 171 (55.5) |
Mean age, years (SD) | 58.6 (14.5) | 52.5 (14.3) | 57.2 (15.2) | 59.8 (15.7) | 56.2 (15.0) | 56.4 (15.5) |
Mean body mass index, kg/m 2 (SD) | 27.7 (5.1) | 27.4 (4.5) | 26.9 (4.7) | 28.0 (4.3) | 27.5 (4.8) | 28.0 (5.8) |
Mean time since GERD diagnosis, years (SD) | 3.5 (3.8) | 2.3 (3.0) | 6.1 (7.2) | 4.5 (4.7) | 6.0 (8.3) | 5.7 (5.8) |
Employed, n (%)* | 192 (38.8) | 258 (51.1) | 233 (44.4) | 161 (33.8) | 196 (53.3) | 132 (42.9) |
Reason for index visit, n (%) | ||||||
First occurrence of reflux symptoms | 58 (11.7) | 180 (35.6) | 43 (8.2) | 55 (11.7) | 47 (12.8) | 59 (19.2) |
Recurrent symptoms after a remission period | 256 (51.7) | 211 (41.8) | 176 (33.5) | 137 (29.1) | 82 (22.3) | 94 (30.5) |
Persistence of reflux symptoms | 45 (9.1) | 55 (10.9) | 81 (15.4) | 63 (13.4) | 37 (10.1) | 66 (21.4) |
Follow-up visit (asymptomatic patient) | 112 (22.6) | 28 (5.5) | 174 (33.1) | 201 (42.7) | 108 (29.4) | 85 (27.6) |
Other | 30 (6.1) | 15 (3.0) | 51 (9.7) | 15 (3.2) | 94 (25.5) | 8 (2.6) |
Symptoms ≥2 days/week, n (%) | ||||||
Heartburn | 81 (16.4) | 213 (42.2) | 86 (16.4) | 158 (33.1) | 50 (13.6) | NR |
Regurgitation | 75 (15.2) | 216 (42.8) | 85 (16.2) | 147 (30.8) | 42 (11.4) | NR |
No symptoms during previous week, n (%) | ||||||
Heartburn | 307 (62.0) | 77 (15.2) | 319 (60.8) | 184 (38.6) | 235 (63.9) | NR |
Regurgitation | 346 (69.9) | 91 (18.0) | 343 (65.9) | 202 (42.3) | 245 (66.6) | NR |
Moderate-to-severe symptoms, n (%) | ||||||
Heartburn | 161 (32.5) | 347 (68.7) | 154 (29.3) | 223 (46.8) | 95 (25.8) | NR |
Regurgitation | 124 (25.1) | 289 (57.2) | 127 (24.2) | 204 (42.8) | 91 (24.7) | NR |