MedWire News: Patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease who experience regular heartburn at night do not face a greater risk of Barrett's oesophagus than those without night-time heartburn, research shows.

Barrett's oesophagus is a condition in which cells that line the food pipe become damaged by regular exposure to digestive acid from the stomach. The condition is associated with an increased risk of oesophageal cancer.

To investigate whether night-time heartburn increases the risk of Barrett's oesophagus, Dr Marc Nocon, from Charité University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany, and team studied data on more than 6000 European patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease who were participating in a long-term health study.

All the participants completed questionnaires and underwent tests to assess their reflux symptoms.

The researchers found that, in total, 49% of the participants reported experiencing night-time heartburn for at least 1 year during the 3-year monitoring period, with 21% reporting night-time heartburn in all 3 years.

Analysis revealed that patients who suffered from night-time heartburn were more likely to report the constant feeling of a lump in their throat and were more likely to have erosive gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, where digestive acid is starting to erode the lining of the food pipe, than those without night-time heartburn.

However, patients with regular night-time heartburn did not appear to have a greater risk of Barrett's oesophagus or other complications associated with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease than those without night-time heartburn.

Writing in the journal Digestion, Dr Nocon and team conclude: "The prevalence of night-time heartburn in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease patients under routine care was high, even in patients on continuous proton pump inhibitor [stomach acid-suppressing] therapy.

But they add: "Night-time heartburn was not associated with Barrett's oesophagus or most extra-oesophageal symptoms."