Correlation of gastro-esophageal reflux disease with asthma control and quality of life: a cross-sectional study from a low-middle income country.

Background: Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic disease that coexists with asthma and is often responsible for repeated exacerbations, as well as has a negative impact on the quality of life (QoL). However, from our continent, there is limited data available on the exact prevalence of GERD in asthma and its association with asthma control and QoL.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of GERD in asthma and see its association with asthma control and QoL.

Design: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted over 8 months from September 2020 to April 2021.

Methods: Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma aged 18 years and above were recruited from the outpatient department of pulmonology. Patients' GERD score was calculated using the FSSG SCALE (Frequency Scale for Symptoms of GERD) questionnaire and the Asthma Control Test (ACT) was used to determine asthma control. To assess the QoL, the short form of health survey (SF-36) questionnaire was used. Patients were recruited through a convenience sampling technique.

Results: A total of 190 patients were enrolled, the mean age was 33.7 ± 13.3 years and 55.8% were female. Prevalence of GERD was (136) 71.6%. According to the ACT score, 81 (42.6%) patients had very poorly controlled asthma (mean GERD score of 13.73 ± 7.66), compared to 59 (31.1%) asthmatic patients who had well-controlled asthma (mean GERD score of 11.97 ± 7.39,  = 0.43). SF-36 questionnaire was used to measure QoL showed GERD patients had statistically lower scores in the following domains of QoL: "Role Limitations due to Physical Functioning" (37.78 vs 57.44,  = 0.003), "Energy/Fatigue" (47.47 vs 55.07,  = 0.02), and "Bodily Pain" (63.40 vs 72.84,  = 0.01).

Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of GERD among asthmatic patients with a negative impact on QoL but did not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between GERD and asthma control.