Prevalence and risk factors of gastro-esophageal reflux disease among undergraduate medical students from a southern Indian medical school: a cross-sectional study.

A total of 358 undergraduate medical students participated in the study. There were 188 (52.5%) males and 170 (47.4%) females; the mean (SD) age of the participants was 20.3 (1.5) years. A total of 115 (31.2%) participants had at least one episode of heartburn per week, while 108 (30.1%) participants had at least one episode of regurgitation per week. Heartburn or regurgitation of at least mild severity was present in 115 (32.1%) and 108 (30.16%) of participants respectively. Based on the symptom score, a diagnosis of GERD was made in 18 (5.02%) students. Frequent consumption of carbonated drinks (OR = 3.63 [95% CI 1.39-9.5]; P = 0.008) and frequent consumption of tea or coffee (OR = 4.65 [95% CI 1.2-17.96]; P = 0.026) were significantly associated with a diagnosis of GERD.