The first major multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial addressing therapy for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) related sleep disorders is published in the September issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.
This study demonstrated that effective acid suppression therapy with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), either 20 mgs or 40 mgs of esomeprazole, relieved nighttime heartburn symptoms and GERD-related sleep disturbances, which significantly improved sleep quality and thereby improved work productivity.
The researchers found that nighttime heartburn was relieved in 53.1 percent, 50.5 percent and 12.7 percent of patients who received esomeprazole 40 mg, esomeprazole 20 mg and placebo, respectively. Additionally, GERD-related sleep disturbances resolved in significantly more patients who received therapy than those who received placebo. The high percentage of patients with resolutions of sleep disturbances in the current trial was both statistically and clinically significant.
“Sleep problems are extremely common in patients with GERD and are often unrecognized,” said lead author David A. Johnson, M.D., FACG, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School who serves as the Vice President of the American College of Gastroenterology. For those with frequent and moderate-to-severe symptoms, GERD has a significant negative impact on sleep. “Anyone who’s had a poor night’s rest knows how much that impacts their performance the next day. We found that nighttime heartburn is a treatable condition that responds to effective, acid-suppressive medical therapy such as esomeprazole.”
Additionally, an estimate by the American College of Gastroenterology based on findings from this study reveals that U.S. workers who frequently suffer from moderate-to-severe nighttime heartburn symptoms cost the U.S. economy $1,920,528,315 per week in paid hours of lost productivity.