Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder With and Without Chest Pain

Abstract

Introduction Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) influences patients' general health, daily and social functioning, and physical and emotional activities. It strongly affects the health-related quality of life with frequent interruptions during sleep, work, and social activities. GERD is defined as a condition that develops when the reflux of stomach contents causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications. GERD symptoms are a major concern for many patients, as they cause a disturbance in physical, social and emotional health. In this study, we determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients with GERD with and without chest pain. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a total of 258 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of GERD were included in this study. Of 258 participants, 112 had concerns about chest pain. Clinical presentations and comorbid disorders were evaluated by a previously validated gastroesophageal reflux symptom questionnaire. Depressive and anxious symptoms were assessed using a Hospital Anxiety/Depression Scale. Results A total of 107 (41.4%) participants had depression, 89 (34.4%) participants had anxiety, and 70 (27.13%) had both depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety were significantly higher in patients with GERD and chest pain. Conclusion Anxiety and depression were significantly higher in patients with GERD, particularly those who also reported concerns of chest pain. Measures should be taken to reduce the stress and anxiety of GERD patients to cope with their daily life activities and improve their quality of life.

The impact of socioeconomic status, general health and oral health on Health-Related Quality of Life, Oral Health-Related Quality of Life and mental health among Polish older adults

“…Our data showed that gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is associated with depression measured on the PHQ-9 scale. A similar relationship was described previously [ 39 ]. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed with the use of the Hospital Anxiety/Depression Scale and were higher in patients with GERD, particularly those who also reported concerns regarding chest pain.…”

“…The correlation of anxiety and depression with GERD is not fully elucidated. Stress and emotions as well as psychological factors might influence or even cause gastrointestinal symptoms [ 39 ]. The results obtained using all four statistical models suggest that material status was a significant positive parameter with an impact on the level of depression assessed with the use of the PHQ-9 questionnaire.…”

Clusters of comorbidities in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

“…This may reflect that patients in this cluster suffer from more advanced disease. Similar to patients without IPF, both pain disorders and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease are associated to anxiety and depression, all common comorbidities in this cluster [33,34].…”

Achalasia is associated with a higher incidence of depression in outpatients in Germany

“…In this analysis, long symptom duration turned out as a risk factor for development of depression, highlighting that esophagus related diseases might be associated to depressive disease states as recently demonstrated (e.g. [10][11][12]).…”

“…However, in some patients, optimal symptom control cannot be achieved, leaving these with long-term distress symptoms. We therefore hypothesized that this distress could be associated with an increased incidence of depression and anxiety disorders in achalasia patients as recently demonstrated for other esophagus related diseases [ 10 – 12 ]. Due to the rarity of the disease, such a question can only be answered by analyzing large patient registries.…”