MedWire News: Heartburn, regurgitation and other gastro-oesophageal reflux symptoms are common in US high-school students, particularly if they smoke or drink alcohol, study results show.

But the researchers also found that less than a quarter of high-school students with reflux symptoms consult a doctor about their symptoms or take medications.

Dr T Gunasekaran, from the Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois, USA, and colleagues asked 1286 teenagers, aged 14 to 18 years, attending two US high schools to complete a questionnaire on their lifestyles and whether they suffered from gastro-oesophageal reflux and associated symptoms.

The team found that 714 (56%) of the participants reported that they regularly suffered from at least one reflux symptom. Of these, 22% said that they suffered from heartburn, 21% from regurgitation and 15% from swallowing difficulties.

Furthermore, many of the students also suffered from symptoms linked to gastro-oesophageal reflux, such as shortness of breath (24%), wheezing (20%) and cough (18%).

Students who smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol or used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were significantly more likely to experience gastro-oesophageal reflux and associated symptoms than other students.

However, just 23% of those who suffered from such symptoms had visited their doctor, and only 25% had taken medications to combat their reflux symptoms.

"Oesophageal symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux are frequent in adolescents," the researchers conclude in the journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences.

They add: "An important message to healthcare providers... is that adolescents should be questioned about these symptoms as a part of their preventative health care visits.

"This may help early detection and diagnosis of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, minimising or even preventing its long-term complications and improving the adolescent's quality of life."