Overlap Between Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Functional Constipation and Associated Risk Factors Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and functional constipation (FC) are two common gastrointestinal disorders that affect many age groups in the community. A few studies were conducted to find the association between GERD and FC, but no study had been conducted in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study aims to find the overlap between GERD and FC and associated risk factors among the general population in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia between August and September 2022. GERDQ and Rome IV criteria were used to collect the data with participants' characteristics through an online questionnaire.
Results: Out of 2007 respondents, 1481 filled the required criteria, among them 320 (21.6%) had GERD, and 1292 (87.2%) respondents had FC based on the listed criteria. Eighty percent of respondents with GERD had overlapping FC. Men were more likely than women to experience this significant relationship (53.1% versus 46.9%).
Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between GERD and FC among the general population of the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Consequently, this study could be used to improve the understanding of the overlapping between these gastrointestinal disorders and further new guidelines could be carried out to find the best treatment for these patients.
Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.
(© 2024 Al Jalal et al.)