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AIM: To accurately assess the prevalence of GERD symptoms in general practice. METHODS: 4139 consecutive patients (2025 men and 2114 women with a mean age of 43 years), who fi rst attended the Outpatient Department of General Medicine and Emergency Care at Toho University Omori Hospital, were asked to respond to the F-scale questionnaire regardless of their chief complaints. The questionnaire is a self-report instrument, written in a simple and easy-to-understand language, containing 12 questions. RESULTS: Of 4139 subjects, 1554 patients (37.6%) were identifi ed as GERD according to their F-scale score (> 7). However, there were only 45 consultations (1.1%) for typical GERD symptoms. Although GERD symptoms are common in adults of all ages, the prevalence of GERD was highest in the 20-29 years age group and the age group 70-79 years had the lowest prevalence for both males and females. CONCLUSION: Although there was a high rate indicating GERD in our primary care population, only 1.1% of outpatients attended our hospital with a chief complaint of GERD symptoms. Since about one-third of GERD patients are affected by atypical symptoms, general physicians need to be cautious about extrapolating these results to patients with a chief complaint other than typical GERD symptoms.
METHODS: 4139 consecutive patients (2025 men and 2114 women with a mean age of 43 years), who fi rst attended the Outpatient Department of General Medicine and Emergency Care at Toho University Omori Hospital, were asked to respond to the F-scale questionnaire regardless of their chief complaints. The questionnaire is a self-report instrument, written in a simple and easy-to-understand language, containing 12 questions. RESULTS: Of 4139 subjects, However, there were only 45 consultations (1.1%) for typical GERD symptoms. Although GERD symptoms are common in adults of all ages, 1554 patients (37.6%) were identifi ed as GERD according to their F-scale score (> 7) the prevalence of GERD was highest in the 20-29 years age group and the age group 70-79 years had the lowest prevalence for both males and females. CONCLUSION: Although there was a high rate indicating GERD in our primary care population, only 1.1 % o f outpatients attended our hospital with a chief complaint of GERD symptoms. Since about one-third of GERD patients are to cautious about extrapolating these results to patients with a chief complaint other than typical GERD symptoms.