The Impact of GERD On HRQOL

MIRANDA, FRITZ CORTEZ BSN – 3C
NCM 116 February 28, 2022
The Impact of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease on Health-Related Quality of Life
Health-related quality of life (HRQOL), according to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) is the perceived physical and mental health over time of an individual or group. It is also a given fact
that one of healthcare’s four major health-related goals include the maintenance or improvement of the
quality of life (Mold, 2017). In view of the aforementioned statement, the importance of maintaining
HRQOL lies in the ability of healthcare towards extinguishing the diseases or factors that challenges
HRQOL; and one step to this is by understanding diseases as to how they affect individuals.
One of the diseases that causes a considerable decrease in patients’ health-related quality of life
is the Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) which is a condition where the acid-containing contents in
the stomach persistently leak back up to the esophagus. The symptoms of GERD include heartburn,
regurgitation, the feeling of food caught in the throat, coughing, chest pain, problem swallowing,
vomiting, sore throat, and hoarseness; to which may all be classified as grounds for discomfort. Several
studies have been conducted in order to further understand the effects of GERD to patients’ quality of
life. One study conducted on 533 GERD adult patients has identified that compared to general population,
GERD patients experience decrements in health-related quality of life, mainly brought about by the levels
of pain and role limitations, alongside the reported lower levels of psychological well-being, social
functioning, physical functioning, vitality, and general health perceptions (Revicki et al., 1998). It is of no
question when we view how pain is related to mental health and social function; for example: an intense
pain caused by GERD can disrupt a mother’s ability to take part in her usual daily activities and
responsibilities such as cooking for her children and fetching them from school, and that subsequently
takes a toll on her mental health when we consider the fact that she could not uphold her responsibilities
as a mother, rendering her to feel useless in that role.
The challenges that GERD presents to those affected by the disease will persist if the healthcare
system do not attempt to improve its delivery of care towards the former. A European observational study
has yielded results that a proportion of GERD patients are inadequately treated (Gisbert et al., 2009). This
indicates the need for an improved approach to managing the disease in the primary care setting by
tailoring treatment to individuals in order to lessen GERD’s impact to patients’ health-related quality of
life as to which movement may be aided by the utilization of well-suited and validated Patient-Reported
Outcomes. On top of all that, it is important to note that a complete rework on the healthcare system to
facilitate the treatment of GERD is not necessary, but what is, is to improve existing methods, and to
integrate ones as fitting.
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, June 16). Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). https:
//www.cdc.gov/hrqol/index.htm
Cleveland Clinic. (2019, June 12). GERD (Chronic Acid Reflux). https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseas
es/17019-gerd-or-acid-reflux-or-heartburn-overview
Gisbert, J. P., Cooper, A., Karagiannis, D., Hatlebakk, J., Agréus, L., Jablonowksi, H., & Zapardiel, J. (2009, J
uly 2). Impact of gastroesophageal reflux disease on patients' daily lives: a European observational
study in the primary care setting. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-7-60
Mold J. (2017). Goal-Directed Health Care: Redefining Health and Health Care in the Era of Value-Based C
are. Cureus, 9(2), e1043. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1043
Revicki, D. A., Wood, M., Maton, P. N., & Sorensen, S. (1988, April 16). The Impact of Gastroesophageal R
eflux Disease on Health-related Quality of Life. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9343(97)00354-9

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MIRANDA, FRITZ CORTEZ BSN – 3C

NCM 116 February 28, 2022

The Impact of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease on Health-Related Quality of Life

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