An association between unrecognized gastroesophageal reflux disease and excessive daytime sleepiness in Taiwanese subjects suspected to have liver disease: a pilot study

BMC Gastroenterology

Research Article

Yung-Yu Hsieh¹  Jing-Hong Hu¹  Ning-Hung Chen²  Shih-Wei Lin² 

[1] Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Chiayi Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, No.6, W. Sec., Jiapu Rd., 613, Puzi City, Chiayi County, Taiwan;Department of Thoracic Medicine, Sleep Center, Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, TaoYuan Chang-Gung Institute of Technology, Chang-Gung University, No.123, Dinghu Rd., 333, Guishan Township, Taoyuan County, Taiwan;

关键词: Obstructive Sleep Apnea;    Primary Biliary Cirrhosis;    Daytime Sleepiness;    Esomeprazole;    Excessive Daytime Sleepiness;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-230X-11-55

 received in 2010-09-01, accepted in 2011-05-18,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn traditional Chinese culture, liver disease is believed to underlie excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). Consequently, Chinese patients with complaints of EDS and physicians who treat them suspect that a liver abnormality is present. If liver disease is ruled out, these patients are often discharged without treatment. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common disorder also associated with EDS. This pilot study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of GERD among Taiwanese patients with complaints of EDS suspected to be related to liver disease but in whom no evidence for the latter was found.MethodsFrom July 2009 to December 2009, 121 outpatients who presented to or were referred to the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the Chiayi Gung Memorial Hospital for evaluation of a complaint of EDS thought to be due to liver disease were examined. Demographic data were collected, and physical examinations and liver function tests were performed. Forty-eight patients had liver disease and were excluded. The Chinese Epworth Sleepiness Scale questionnaire (Chinese ESS) and the Chinese Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire (CGERDQ) were then administered to 73 included patients.ResultsMore than half (56.2%) of the included patients were found to suffer from GERD. Patients with symptoms of GERD had higher mean CGERDQ scores than patients without symptoms of the disorder (18.88 ± 5.49 and 5.56 ± 3.57, respectively; P < 0.001). Patients with symptoms of GERD also had higher mean Chinese ESS scores than patients without symptoms (8.80 ± 5.49 and 3.13 ± 3.50, respectively; P < 0.001). Chinese ESS scores indicative of EDS were observed in 48.8% of patients with symptoms of GERD and in 3.1% of those without symptoms (P < 0.001). Differences between the two groups retained their significance after controlling for potential confounders.ConclusionsA significant percentage of Taiwanese patients who complained of EDS and were admitted to our Hepatology/Gastroenterology Department due to a suspicion of liver disease actually had symptoms of GERD. Further studies are needed to ascertain whether treatment of GERD will effectively resolve EDS in these patients.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Hu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.