Gastro-esophageal reflux disease and exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Truls S Ingebrigtsen, Jacob L Marott, Jørgen Vestbo, Børge G Nordestgaard, Jesper Hallas, Peter Lange

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background and objective We tested the hypothesis that gastro-esophageal reflux disease is a risk factor for exacerbations in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods Among 9622 participants in the Copenhagen City Heart Study, we identified 1259 individuals with COPD and information on gastro-esophageal reflux disease and the regular use of acid inhibitory treatment. These individuals were followed for 5 years with regard to medically treated COPD exacerbations, which we defined as a short course treatment with oral corticosteroids alone or in combination with antibiotics. We applied a multivariable Cox regression analysis with adjustment for well-established risk factors associated with COPD exacerbations or gastro-esophageal reflux disease, including COPD severity, and symptoms. Results Individuals with COPD and gastro-esophageal reflux disease had more chronic bronchitis (31 vs 21%, P-=-0.004), more breathlessness (39 vs 22%, P-<-0.001), and more of them had a history of respiratory infections (6.8 vs 1.4%, P-<-0.001) than individuals with COPD but without gastro-esophageal reflux disease. Among individuals with COPD and gastro-esophageal reflux disease, those who did not use acid inhibitory treatment regularly had an increased risk of COPD exacerbations during follow-up, hazards ratio (HR): HR-=-2.7 (1.3-5.4, P-=-0.006). Individuals with gastro-esophageal reflux disease, using acid inhibitory treatment regularly did not have an increased risk of exacerbations, HR-=-1.2 (0.6-2.7, P-=-0.63). Conclusions Gastro-esophageal reflux disease was associated with an increased risk of medically treated exacerbations of COPD, but only in those individuals who did not use acid inhibitory treatment regularly. We tested the hypothesis that gastro-esophageal reflux disease is associated with COPD exacerbations. Our study supports this hypothesis and provides the first prospective analysis showing that this association applies only among those individuals not using acid inhibitory treatment regularly.

Original languageEnglish
JournalRespirology
Volume20
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)101-7
Number of pages7
ISSN1323-7799
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2015

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Gastro-esophageal reflux disease and exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this