Abstract

Objective: To look at the association between the body mass index (BMI) and waist over hip ratio to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Methodology: This prospective cross sectional study included subjects who visited gastrointestinal outpatient clinic at Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar, Malaysia. It was a convenient sampling. The subjects were interviewed with a validated questionnaire (GERDq). The data was analyzed with Chi-square test, using statistical analysis SPSS version 19.
Result: A total of 100 subjects were interviewed. The chi-square value for modified BMI was 1.190 (p=0.275). 59% of study population had a BMI of 23 kg/m2 and of these, 31% had GERD impact on daily life. The W/H Ratio had chi-square value of 0.852 (p=0.356). 29% of the subjects with W/H Ratio above 0.85 for male and 0.95 for female showed GERD symptoms with high impact on daily life.
Conclusion: In this study, BMI and W/H Ratio were not associated with GERD symptoms. However, the results showed a trend of increased BMI with higher GERD symptoms impact on the daily life.

Key words: Body Mass Index (BMI), obesity, waist/hip ratio, gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD.