Published May 17, 2013

Hamilton, ON, Canada - Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) affects about 25% of the population in Western countries. Patients suffer symptoms at least monthly and five percent have daily heartburn. In the study, “Assessing the Value of Symptom Relief for Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Treatment: Willingness to Pay Using a Discrete Choice Experiment,” published in Value in Health, researchers found that patient treatment choices for GERD were most affected by the likelihood of side effects, followed by sleeping discomfort due to GERD, daytime discomfort, dietary changes, medication cost and treatment frequency. The researchers discovered that patients were willing to pay more to reduce susceptibility of GERD side effects from moderate to mild, and to relieve several GERD symptoms. Older patients (over 65) were willing to pay less for daytime discomfort relief than those younger than 65, and women were willing to pay more to avoid sleeping discomfort than men. Lead author, Ken Deal, Ph.D., from McMaster University, states: “This information can guide physicians to select the most appropriate therapy for their individual patients, help to optimize treatment strategies, and improve treatment adherence.”

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