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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 7, 2008; 14(41): 6388-6394
Published online Nov 7, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.6388
Chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and quality of life in the Korean population
Jeong-Jo Jeong, Myung-Gyu Choi, Young-Seok Cho, Seung-Geun Lee, Jung-Hwan Oh, Jae-Myung Park, Yu-Kyung Cho, In-Seok Lee, Sang-Woo Kim, Sok-Won Han, Kyu-Yong Choi, In-Sik Chung
Jeong-Jo Jeong, Myung-Gyu Choi, Young-Seok Cho, Jung-Hwan Oh, Jae-Myung Park, Yu-Kyung Cho, In-Seok Lee, Sang-Woo Kim, Sok-Won Han, Kyu-Yong Choi, In-Sik Chung, Department of Internal Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-040, South Korea
Seung-Geun Lee, Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Author contributions: Jeong JJ, Choi MG and Cho YS designed the research; Jeong JJ, Choi MG, Cho YS, Oh JH, Park JM, Cho YK, Lee IS, Kim SW, Han SW, Choi KY and Chung IS performed the research; Jeong JJ, Choi MG and Lee SG analyzed the data; Jeong JJ and Choi MG wrote the paper.
Supported by The Korean Society of Neurogastroenterlogy and Motility Fund and a 2000 grant from the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, KMA
Correspondence to: Myung-Gyu Choi, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, #137-040, 505, Banpo-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul 137-040, South Korea. choim@catholic.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-2-5902471 Fax: +82-2-5902387
Received: July 2, 2008
Revised: September 17, 2008
Accepted: September 24, 2008
Published online: November 7, 2008
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the prevalence of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and their impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the Korean population.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey, using a reliable and valid Rome II based questionnaire, was performed on randomly selected residents, between 18 and 69 years in age. All respondents were interviewed at their homes or offices by a team of interviewers. The impact of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms on HRQOL was assessed using the Korean version of the 36-item Short-Form general health survey (SF-36).

RESULTS: Of the 1807 eligible subjects, 1417 (78.4%: male 762; female 655) were surveyed. Out of the respondents, 18.6% exhibited at least one chronic gastrointestinal symptom. The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), defined as heartburn and/or acid regurgitation experienced at least weekly, was 3.5% (95% CI, 2.6-4.5). The prevalence of uninvestigated dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic constipation based on Rome II criteria were 11.7% (95% CI, 10.1-13.5), 2.2% (95% CI, 1.5-3.1), and 2.6% (95% CI, 1.8-3.5) respectively. Compared with subjects without chronic gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 1153), those with GERD (n = 50), uninvestigated dyspepsia (n = 166) and IBS (n = 31) had significantly worse scores on most domains of the SF-36 scales.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of GERD, uninvestigated dyspepsia and IBS were 3.5%, 11.7% and 2.2% respectively, in the Korean population. The health-related quality of life was significantly impaired in subjects with GERD, uninvestigated dyspepsia and IBS in this community.

Keywords: Chronic gastrointestinal symptom; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Dyspepsia; Irritable bowel syndrome; Qaulity of life