Table 1.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of gastro-esophageal reflux disease patients and healthy volunteers n (%)

Demographic and clinical parameters	GERD patients	HVs	P value
Patients	40	48
Female/male	20/20	27/21	NS
Mean age, yr (range)	48 (18-76)	44 (22-77)	NS
Mean BMI, kg/m2 (range)	26 (20-32)	23 (16-34)	< 0.05
NERD/ERD	25 (63)/15 (38)	NA
Patients with hiatal hernia	22 (55)	4 (10)	< 0.01
Patients responding to PPI therapy	34 (85)	NA

NERD: Nonerosive reflux disease; ERD: Erosive reflux disease; GERD: Gastroesophageal reflux disease; PPI: Proton pump inhibitor; BMI: Body mass index; HV: Healthy volunteer.