Aim: To evaluate the clinical manifestations and changes of non-erosive reflux disease, erosive reflux disease, and Barrett's esophagus (BE) in a cohort of elderly patients during a 5-year follow-up.
Subjects and methods: A continuous method was used to compare the clinical manifestations of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in 950 patients aged 60 to 75 years and 453 patients aged 36 to 60 years. All the patients underwent clinical examination using the Mayo clinic questionnaire and fibroesophagogastroduodenoscopy. A prospective cohort study was performed in 950 patients aged 60 to 75 years for an average of 5 years. GERD was diagnosed on the basis of the Montreal Consensus guidelines (2006); the degree of esophageal mucosal injury was evaluated according to the Los-Angeles classification (1999). The diagnosis of BE was morphologically verified.
Results: The frequency of weekly heartburn was 10% higher in the mature-aged patients; but that of nocturnal heartburn, belching, and BE prevailed in the elderly patients. The 5-year prospective follow-up revealed a significant increase in the rate of erosive esophagitis and BE in the elderly patients with GERD. The risk factors of the latter were no maintenance therapy with proton pump inhibitors, as well as obesity and hiatal hernia.
Conclusion: GERD shows clinical features and progression in the elderly patients.