ABSTRACT
Introduction: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and functional constipation (FC) are two common gastrointestinal disorders that affect many age groups in the community. A few studies were conducted to find the association between GERD and FC, but no study had been conducted in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study aims to find the overlap between GERD and FC and associated risk factors among the general population in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia between August and September 2022. GERDQ and Rome IV criteria were used to collect the data with participants' characteristics through an online questionnaire. Results: Out of 2007 respondents, 1481 filled the required criteria, among them 320 (21.6%) had GERD, and 1292 (87.2%) respondents had FC based on the listed criteria. Eighty percent of respondents with GERD had overlapping FC. Men were more likely than women to experience this significant relationship (53.1% versus 46.9%). Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between GERD and FC among the general population of the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Consequently, this study could be used to improve the understanding of the overlapping between these gastrointestinal disorders and further new guidelines could be carried out to find the best treatment for these patients.
ABSTRACT
Background: Coffee consumption by young people has increased dramatically over the last decades as there are substantial evidence of the physiological, cognitive, and emotional effects of coffee consumption. To reduce the risk of consuming related harm, it is necessary to understand the consumer's motivation for its use. Objective: This study aimed to investigate coffee consumption behavior in young adults, assess the type of coffee consumption, explore motivation, document adverse effects and withdrawal symptoms of coffee intake. Methods: A sample of 923 young adults were recruited voluntarily to complete a set of measures examining motivations, adverse effects, and withdrawal symptoms of coffee intake. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between coffee consumption and all independent variables. A p-value of 0.005 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The results indicate that more than half of the participants consumed coffee. Coffee consumers were more like to be male, young adults, unmarried, poor sleep pattern (3-5 hours), and smokers. Main motivations of coffee intake were those related to reinforcing effects. The prevalence of dripper coffee consumption (85.59%) was observed to be highest with 20.1% participants consuming coffee in 2-3 times per day. Participants experienced restlessness, shaky, excited, difficulty in falling sleep, and fast heart beat as adverse effects of coffee consumption. Withdrawal symptoms such as headache, mood change, and tiredness were also noticed after consuming a high amount of coffee. Gender (p < 0.005), age (p < 0.003), family income (p < 0.004), BMI (p < 0.002) and sleeping pattern (p < 0.005) were found important variables associated with coffee intake. Conclusion: The association reported in this study may allow for the implementation of appropriate strategies to address behaviors towards excessive coffee consumption and its link to an increased risk of poor health.
