Ricci JA1, Engelhart LM2, Sloan S2, 1IMR, An AdvancePCS Company, Hunt Valley, MD, USA; 2Janssen Pharmaceutica, Titusville, NJ, USA

OBJECTIVE: To compare the epidemiology and treatment of GERD and nocturnal GERD in a U.S. national sample of elderly (65+ years of age) and younger adults (<65 years of age). METHODS: A national random-sample phone survey of 9035 adults identified 171 elderly and 1090 younger adults with symptomatic GERD, and 42 elderly and 329 younger adults with nocturnal GERD. Symptomatic GERD cases reported heartburn or regurgitation 1+ time/week in past three months. Nocturnal GERD was defined as symptomatic GERD with 1+ nocturnal symptom 1+ time/week. Severe was defined as 2+ episodes/week. The interview included questions on symptom frequency, concomitant motility-related symptoms, and treatment for GERD symptoms. Chi-square tested for statistical significance between elderly and younger adults. RESULTS: Prevalence of symptomatic GERD (9.9% vs. 14.9%; p < 0.0001) and nocturnal GERD (2.4% vs. 4.5%; p < 0.0001) was lower and less severe (74% vs. 87%; p < 0.05) in elderly than younger adults. Most bothersome symptoms were regurgitation in elderly, and heartburn in younger adults. Among GERD cases, motility-related symptoms (e.g., post-prandial fullness, early satiety) were less prevalent or less frequent in the elderly than younger adults. Among nocturnal GERD cases, prevalence of motility-related symptoms was not different between elderly and younger adults, but the elderly reported less severe post-prandial fullness (p < 0.05) and a lower frequency of nausea (p < 0.001) than younger adults. Prescription medication use for GERD-related symptoms was reported by 24% of nocturnal GERD cases and did not differ by age. However, elderly nocturnal GERD cases reported less non-prescription medication use than younger adults (9.5% versus 22.5%; p < 0.05) for GERD-related symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Symptomatic GERD and nocturnal GERD were less prevalent and severe in elderly compared to younger adults. Elderly reported less medication use for GERD-related symptoms than younger adults.