A cross-sectional study to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of gastro-esophageal reflux disease among the undergraduate medical students of a tertiary-care Indian setting

Introduction: Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition characterized by the reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus, causing unpleasant symptoms and/or consequences like heartburn and acid regurgitation. GERD in the student stages can hurt their quality of life, college attendance, everyday activities, and overall well-being of the individual. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted among medical students of a tertiary care setting from August 2021 to October 2021 for a three-month duration. A convenient sample of 458 participants from all the years of MBBS was included in this study. Results: A total of 458 medical students were made part of this study of which most of them (58.9%) were females and 41.1% were males. The average age among the study participants was 22 ± 2.3 years (range of 18–27 years). The average BMI of the individuals was 23.48 (range 14.58–32.41), with the majority (54.8%) of them having a normal BMI. Discussion: In our study, we found that the prevalence of GERD in the medical students of a rural Indian tertiary care setting was 24.2%, and was observed that irregular meal timings and consuming coffee and soft drinks are the crucial risk factors for developing GERD in the medical students in comparison to the general population. Conclusion: Medical students should be trained on proper eating habits, maintaining ideal body weight, good sleep hygiene, and avoiding drinking alcohol and smoking to lessen the burden of GERD.