Khan Sadia A, Khan Javeria Z, Akhter Tayyab S, Khaar Hamama-Tul-Bushra, Yar Talay, Randhawa Mohammad A
Department of Family Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University, RMU, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Center for Liver and Digestive Diseases, Holy Family Hospital, RMU, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
J Family Community Med. 2025 Jan-Mar;32(1):16-20. doi: 10.4103/jfcm.jfcm_302_24. Epub 2025 Jan 17.
The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has generally increased worldwide. Irregular pattern of intake of meals are known to be the most prevalent cause of GERD. The intake of food on top of another meal may cause gastroesophageal reflux either by generating transient lower-esophageal sphincter relaxations (TLESRs) subsequent to distention of the upper part of the stomach or/and delayed gastric emptying due to inhibition of migrating motor complexes (MMCs) in the distal part of the stomach. Present study evaluated the effect of authors suggested regimen "Akram's lifestyle", taking meals twice-a-day with the liberty to consume only liquids in the intervening periods on the outcome of patients presenting with mild to moderate GERD.
Study included 60 patients with symptoms of GERD who agreed to follow "Akram's lifestyle", took two meals a day about 10-12 hours apart, consuming liquids in between meals for a period of two weeks. Typical GERD symptoms of heartburn, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting and dyspepsia as reported by the patients were scored on visual analog scale (VAS). Gastrointestinal and associated complaints were also evaluated by "Yes/No" response. Data obtained before and after two weeks of intervention was analyzed using SPSS version 28.0.
Final data after 2 weeks were available for 45 patients. There was a highly significant improvement in GERD symptoms (heartburn, reflux, nausea, vomiting, and dyspepsia) within 2 weeks of dietary intervention ( < 0.000). Improvement was also reflected in the significant reduction (>69%) in the gastrointestinal complaints as evaluated by "Yes/No" responses after the dietary intervention.
Adherence to "Akram's lifestyle" for GERD for 2 weeks resulted in a significant improvement or complete relief of symptoms of patients with GERD. Reduced gastric acid secretion, TLESRs and enhanced gastric emptying could be the potential contributing factors in causing this improvement. Further investigations with larger samples are needed to confirm the findings.
胃食管反流病（GERD）在全球范围内的患病率普遍上升。已知不规律的进餐模式是GERD最常见的病因。在另一餐之上进食可能会通过以下方式导致胃食管反流：胃上部扩张后引发一过性下食管括约肌松弛（TLESRs），和/或由于胃远端移行性运动复合波（MMCs）受抑制导致胃排空延迟。本研究评估了作者提出的“阿克拉姆生活方式”方案的效果，即一天进食两次，中间时段只允许饮用液体，对轻至中度GERD患者治疗结果的影响。
研究纳入60例有GERD症状且同意遵循“阿克拉姆生活方式”的患者，每天进食两餐，间隔约10 - 12小时，餐间饮用液体，为期两周。患者报告的典型GERD症状，如烧心、反酸、恶心、呕吐和消化不良，采用视觉模拟量表（VAS）评分。胃肠道及相关不适也通过“是/否”回答进行评估。使用SPSS 28.0版软件分析干预两周前后获得的数据。
45例患者在干预两周后有最终数据。饮食干预两周内，GERD症状（烧心、反流、恶心、呕吐和消化不良）有极显著改善（<0.000）。饮食干预后通过“是/否”回答评估，胃肠道不适也显著减少（>69%），这也反映了改善情况。
GERD患者坚持“阿克拉姆生活方式”两周可使症状显著改善或完全缓解。胃酸分泌减少、TLESRs减少以及胃排空增强可能是导致这种改善的潜在因素。需要进一步进行更大样本量的研究来证实这些发现。
