Somatic anxiety in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) and anxiety in patients with LPR.

Design: Prospective, case-control study.

Setting: This study was conducted at a tertiary care center.

Participants: Sixty-four patients with LPR and 60 healthy controls.

Methods: Patients with LPR and healthy individuals (N = 64 and N = 60) were enrolled in this study. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and reflux symptom index (RSI) were used to evaluate anxiety and reflux-related symptoms, respectively. The BAI can be classified into somatic and subjective symptom scales. The prevalence of anxiety was compared between patients with LPR and healthy individuals. This study evaluated the relationship between BAI and RSI scores.

Results: No statistical difference was found in the prevalence of anxiety between patients with LPR and healthy individuals (42.2% vs. 33.3%). However, the somatic anxiety symptom score was statistically higher in patients with LPR than in healthy individuals (p = .047). We observed a correlation between RSI and somatic anxiety scores of BAI in patients with LPR (rho = 0.286, p = .021).

Conclusion: Patients with LPR had more severe somatic anxiety symptoms, and somatic anxiety was associated with their LPR-related symptoms.