Open AccessQuality of life of the patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease in Serbia
Author(s) -
Igor Dragičević,
Tamara Babič,
Goran Trajković,
Aleksandar Ćorac,
Miloš Bjelović
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
acta chirurgica iugoslavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2406-0887
pISSN - 0354-950X
DOI - 10.2298/aci1403013d
Subject(s) - gerd , medicine , serbian , disease , public health , quality of life (healthcare) , population , health care , reflux , pediatrics , family medicine , physical therapy , environmental health , nursing , linguistics , philosophy , economics , economic growth
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (ERD) was often considered as a minor public health problem and its potential severity was not fully recognized by the general public, patients, the health care system, and in some cases health care providers. Data about GERD related HRQoL in eastern European population are scare. The aim of the study was to evaluate the burden of GERD on patients treated in Serbian primary health care. The study included 1091 patients with diagnosed GERD, treated in Serbian primary health care. All patients completed Serbian version of generic self-administered Center for Disease Control and Prevention questionnaire, CDC-HRQoL-4.In our study, 463 (42%) GERD patients self-rated their current health status as fair or poor, 584 (53%) had poor physical health one or more days during the past 30 days, 460 (42%) had poor mental health one or more days for the same time period. Due to disease symptoms 492 (46%) GERD patients felt depressed one or more days during the past 30 days, 581 (54%) felt tired or sleepy during the same time period. In addition, GERD patients had lower scores regarding number of healthy and unhealthy days. The obtained results had demonstrated that in large proportion, GERD impaired patient everyday lives. A better understanding of the relationships between GERD and impaired HRQoL may allow the physicians in primary health care to manage these patients more effectively in the future.