Epidemiology of gastroesophageal reflux disease.

The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms increased approximately 50% until the mid-1990s, when it plateaued. The incidence of complications related to GERD including hospitalization, esophageal strictures, esophageal adenocarcinoma, and mortality also increased during that time period, but the increase in esophageal adenocarcinoma has since slowed, and the incidence of strictures has decreased since the mid-1990s. GERD is responsible for the greatest direct costs in the United States of any gastrointestinal disease, and most of those expenditures are for pharmacotherapy. Risk factors for GERD include obesity, poor diet, lack of physical activity, consumption of tobacco and alcohol, and respiratory diseases.