Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients according to GERD exposure.
| Baseline characteristic | GERD | p value | SMD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unexposed (n = 669,144) | Exposed (n = 514,376) | ||||
| Tinnitus (%) | No | 657,777 (98.3) | 454,123 (88.3) | < 0.001 | 0.409 |
| Yes | 11,367 (1.7) | 60,253 (11.7) | |||
| Age (years) (mean (SD)) | 40.35 (14.79) | 40.74 (14.47) | < 0.001 | 0.027 | |
| Age (years) (%) | < 40 | 351,468 (52.5) | 259,403 (50.4) | < 0.001 | 0.048 |
| 40–59 | 230,582 (34.5) | 189,015 (36.7) | |||
| 60 + | 87,094 (13.0) | 65,958 (12.8) | |||
| Sex (%) | Male | 338,206 (50.5) | 246,424 (47.9) | < 0.001 | 0.053 |
| Female | 330,938 (49.5) | 267,952 (52.1) | |||
| Income level (%) | Low | 178,924 (26.7) | 132,277 (25.7) | < 0.001 | 0.049 |
| Middle | 257,745 (38.5) | 191,186 (37.2) | |||
| High | 232,475 (34.7) | 190,913 (37.1) | |||
| CCI score (%) | 0 | 385,830 (57.7) | 250,527 (48.7) | < 0.001 | 0.181 |
| 1–2 | 227,097 (33.9) | 209,479 (40.7) | |||
| 3 + | 56,217 (8.4) | 54,370 (10.6) | |||
| Number of visits (mean (SD)) | 14.04 (17.46) | 17.41 (18.47) | < 0.001 | 0.187 | |
| Number of gastroendoscopies (%) | 0 | 619,187 (92.5) | 466,495 (90.7) | < 0.001 | 0.067 |
| 1 | 41,998 (6.3) | 40,025 (7.8) | |||
| 2 + | 7959 (1.2) | 7856 (1.5) | |||
| Gastritis (%) | None | 306,620 (45.8) | 169,780 (33.0) | < 0.001 | 0.265 |
| Present | 362,524 (54.2) | 344,596 (67.0) | |||
| Gastric cancer (%) | None | 666,153 (99.6) | 511,525 (99.4) | < 0.001 | 0.015 |
| Present | 2991 (0.4) | 2851 (0.6) | |||
| Gastrointestinal bleeding (%) | None | 667,570 (99.8) | 512,852 (99.7) | < 0.001 | 0.012 |
| Present | 1574 (0.2) | 1524 (0.3) | |||
| Hypertension (%) | None | 549,590 (82.1) | 403,640 (78.5) | < 0.001 | 0.092 |
| Present | 119,554 (17.9) | 110,736 (21.5) | |||
| Dyslipidemia (%) | None | 571,037 (85.3) | 419,399 (81.5) | < 0.001 | 0.102 |
| Present | 98,107 (14.7) | 94,977 (18.5) | |||
| Insomnia (%) | None | 654,789 (97.9) | 500,454 (97.3) | < 0.001 | 0.036 |
| Present | 14,355 (2.1) | 13,922 (2.7) | |||
| Vertigo (%) | None | 647,780 (96.8) | 493,772 (96.0) | < 0.001 | 0.044 |
| Present | 21,364 (3.2) | 20,604 (4.0) | |||
| Hearing loss (%) | None | 661,479 (98.9) | 507,127 (98.6) | < 0.001 | 0.023 |
| Present | 7665 (1.1) | 7249 (1.4) | |||
| PPIs (%) | None | 653,336 (97.6) | 499,061 (97.0) | < 0.001 | 0.038 |
| Present | 15,808 (2.4) | 15,315 (3.0) | |||
| H2RAs (%) | None | 431,644 (64.5) | 299,997 (58.3) | < 0.001 | 0.127 |
| Present | 237,500 (35.5) | 214,379 (41.7) | |||
| Antidepressants (%) | None | 632,000 (94.4) | 479,568 (93.2) | < 0.001 | 0.051 |
| Present | 37,144 (5.6) | 34,808 (6.8) | |||
| Benzodiazepines (%) | None | 511,151 (76.4) | 369,833 (71.9) | < 0.001 | 0.103 |
| Present | 157,993 (23.6) | 144,543 (28.1) | |||
| Calcium channel blockers (%) | None | 625,243 (93.4) | 475,143 (92.4) | < 0.001 | 0.042 |
| Present | 43,901 (6.6) | 39,233 (7.6) | |||
| Ginkgo biloba extract (%) | None | 646,360 (96.6) | 493,473 (95.9) | < 0.001 | 0.035 |
| Present | 22,784 (3.4) | 20,903 (4.1) | |||
| Steroids (%) | None | 376,893 (56.3) | 253,414 (49.3) | < 0.001 | 0.142 |
| Present | 292,251 (43.7) | 260,962 (50.7) | |||
CCI: Charlson comorbidity index; GERD: gastroesophageal reflux disease; H2RA: H2 receptor antagonist; PPI: proton pump inhibitor; SD: standard deviation; SMD: standardized mean difference.