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About one third of the U.S. population experiences gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms. Although clinicians commonly recommend diet and lifestyle modifications to prevent GERD symptoms, few prospective data inform these recommendations. Researchers used Nurses' Health Study data to determine associations between dietary and lifestyle factors and risk for developing GERD symptoms in 43,000 women (mean age at study entry, 52) without baseline GERD.
During 10 years of follow-up, 9300 women reported new GERD symptoms at least once weekly. After adjustment for multiple variables, five antireflux lifestyle factors were associated independently with lower risk for GERD symptoms: not smoking; drinking ≤2 cups of coffee, tea, or soda dail…