Background: Effective therapy for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is associated with improvement in health-related quality of life. It remains unclear whether Helicobacter pylori infection protects against GERD.
Aim: We evaluated the relationship between GERD and H. pylori, and whether the health-related quality of life score improved after medical treatment.
Methods: We enrolled 151 outpatients with upper abdominal symptoms; 81 patients received omeprazole 20 mg/day for 2 weeks. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) and the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) index. H. pylori infection was diagnosed by serum antibody or endoscopy and the relationship between GERD and H. pylori was evaluated.
Results: In GERD patients, the mean GSRS score improved from 2.20 to 1.67 following treatment (P < 0.01). The mean GSRS reflux symptom score improved from 2.96 to 1.67 (P < 0.01). The mean PGWB score improved from 96.36 to 107.34 (P < 0.01). All scores in GERD patients significantly improved compared with non-GERD patients. The H. pylori-positive ratio was 66.15% in GERD patients and 65.21% in non-GERD patients (P = 0.94).
Conclusions: Health-related quality of life is useful for evaluation of proton pump inhibitor treatment in GERD. The presence of H. pylori was not associated with the prevalence of GERD.