A Comparison between the Prevalence of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease among South-Western Nigerian Pregnant Women to that of the Non-Pregnant Ones

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in the general population. Pregnancy is known to be associated with high incidence of GERD symptoms. Although, there are previously conducted studies involving both genders to determine the prevalence of GERD in different population groups in Nigeria, our preliminary literature search showed that there is a dearth of data on the prevalence of GERD among Nigerian pregnant women. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of GERD using the GerdQ questionnaire and to test the association between pregnancy and GERD among women of south-western Nigeria. The study was a descriptive hospital based cross-sectional survey involving three medical facilities in two states of south-western Nigeria. A total of 796 women consisting of 413 (51.9%) healthy pregnant women at various gestational ages and 383 (48.1%) nonpregnant women were interviewed. A predesigned questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic data, obstetrics information, the GerdQ questionnaire and previous history of GERD symptoms was administered to each of the participants. Of the 796 women interviewed, 413 (51.9%) were pregnant women with a mean of 27.42 (±5.00) years and 383 (48.1%) non-pregnant women of child bearing age with a mean of 26.72 (±6.46) years. The prevalence of GERD among the pregnant women was 14.5% while that among the nonpregnant group was 9.7%. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.036). Following adjustment for potential confounders, pregnancy maintained a positive statistically significant relationship with GERD [OR=1.67 (95% CI=1.07, -2.61), P=0.023]. GERD has a moderate prevalence in pregnancy in southwestern Nigeria. Pregnancy has a significant association with GERD, independent of the other risk factors.