Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
186,123 studies31 sourcesUpdated 37 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS One

Healthy lifestyle as a protective factor against the risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease: Prospective population cohort analysis

  • Lei Peng1
  • Xueqin Li2
  • Jinfeng Qi3
  • Liming Zhang4
  • Zhenqing Yang5
  • Xucheng Wu
  • Xueqing Jia
  • George O. Agogo
  • Guoju Liu
  • Kongxi Zhu
  • Zuyun Liu
  • Genxiang Mao
1 more authors
  • Honglei Wu
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
  2. 2Center for Clinical Big Data and Analytics of the Second Affiliated Hospital, and Department of Big Data in Health Science School of Public Health, the Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  3. 3Division of Global Health Protection, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Nairobi, Kenya
  4. 4Department of Physiology, Shandong Medical College, Jinan, Shandong, China
  5. 5Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Geriatrics and Geriatrics Institute of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Hospital, Hangzhou, China
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Background: Lifestyle modifications are recommended by American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) for managing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a significant health issue; but evidence is scarce. This study aims to investigate the longitudinal association between healthy lifestyle behaviors and the risk of GERD. Methods: We analyzed data from 306,543 participants aged between 38 and 73 years without GERD at baseline from the UK Biobank. A summarized healthy lifestyle score (range, 0–7) was calculated using seven items: never smoking, healthy sleep, moderate body mass index (BMI), regular physical exercise, moderate alcohol intake, healthy diet, and moderate tea/coffee intake. Multivariable Cox regression was performed to examine the associations. Result: During a mean follow-up of 12.7 years, 27,943 (9.1%) GERD cases were identified. Each healthy lifestyle, except for moderate alcohol intake (hazard ratios [HR], 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98–1.03) was associated with a lower risk of GERD. Relative to participants with less than 2 of summarized healthy lifestyle score, those with 2, 3, 4, and 5–7 of this score showed a significantly lower risk of GERD, with the HR of 0.94 (95% CI: 0.90–0.98), 0.83 (0.80–0.86), 0.74 (0.71–0.77), 0.63 (0.60–0.66), respectively (P for trend <0.001). Stratified analysis shows that the above associations were more pronounced among participants who were younger (< 60 years), female and employed (all P for interaction <0.05). Sensitivity analyses demonstrated similar results. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors in reducing the prevalence of GERD in the general population.

Related

  1. Effect of nursing care program on healthy lifestyle behaviours and quality of life in women with endometriosis: a randomised controlled trial
    Ayse Gul Bursa, Nevin Sahin
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textObstetrics, gynaecology & paediatricsCrossref
  2. Construction of a healthy lifestyle index system for Chinese adults: a modified Delphi study
    Huaqing Guo, Yan Shi, Nan Zhang +4
    BMC Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Epidemiology & public healthCrossref
  3. Health inequalities in PM₂.₅-related symptoms during Thailand’s haze season: the role of education, sociodemographic, lifestyle, protective behaviors, and environmental factors
    Nalin Sittitoon, Wuttipat Kiratipaisarl, Ratana Sapbamrer
    Frontiers in public healthPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textPharmacology & toxicologyEurope PMCCrossref
  4. Lifestyle, Dietary Habits, and Modifiable Risk Factors in Patients with Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study with Development and Validation of a Composite Lifestyle and Nutrition Questionnaire
    Carina Gib, Alina Anton, Andreea-Adriana Neamțu +8
    Journal of clinical medicinePeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  5. Association of a ‘three meals and sleep routine’ lifestyle intervention with weight and metabolic health in children with obesity: a prospective, single-arm pilot study
    Qi Long, Ming Ma, Dan Wang +5
    Translational pediatricsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{peng2026healthy,
  title = {{Healthy lifestyle as a protective factor against the risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease: Prospective population cohort analysis}},
  author = {Lei Peng and Xueqin Li and Jinfeng Qi and Liming Zhang and Zhenqing Yang and Xucheng Wu and Xueqing Jia and George O. Agogo and Guoju Liu and Kongxi Zhu and Zuyun Liu and Genxiang Mao and Honglei Wu},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0360299},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360299},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Healthy lifestyle as a protective factor against the risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease: Prospective population cohort analysis
AU  - Lei Peng
AU  - Xueqin Li
AU  - Jinfeng Qi
AU  - Liming Zhang
AU  - Zhenqing Yang
AU  - Xucheng Wu
AU  - Xueqing Jia
AU  - George O. Agogo
AU  - Guoju Liu
AU  - Kongxi Zhu
AU  - Zuyun Liu
AU  - Genxiang Mao
AU  - Honglei Wu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/15
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0360299
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360299
AB  - Background: Lifestyle modifications are recommended by American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) for managing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a significant health issue; but evidence is scarce. This study aims to investigate the longitudinal association between healthy lifestyle behaviors and the risk of GERD. Methods: We analyzed data from 306,543 participants aged between 38 and 73 years without GERD at baseline from the UK Biobank. A summarized healthy lifestyle score (range, 0–7) was calculated using seven items: never smoking, healthy sleep, moderate body mass index (BMI), regular physical exercise, moderate alcohol intake, healthy diet, and moderate tea/coffee intake. Multivariable Cox regression was performed to examine the associations. Result: During a mean follow-up of 12.7 years, 27,943 (9.1%) GERD cases were identified. Each healthy lifestyle, except for moderate alcohol intake (hazard ratios [HR], 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98–1.03) was associated with a lower risk of GERD. Relative to participants with less than 2 of summarized healthy lifestyle score, those with 2, 3, 4, and 5–7 of this score showed a significantly lower risk of GERD, with the HR of 0.94 (95% CI: 0.90–0.98), 0.83 (0.80–0.86), 0.74 (0.71–0.77), 0.63 (0.60–0.66), respectively (P for trend <0.001). Stratified analysis shows that the above associations were more pronounced among participants who were younger (< 60 years), female and employed (all P for interaction <0.05). Sensitivity analyses demonstrated similar results. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors in reducing the prevalence of GERD in the general population.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -