ArticleCureus2026
Knowledge, Awareness, and Self-Reported Association Between Anxiety Symptoms and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by the reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus, causing symptoms such as heartburn, acid regurgitation, and extraesophageal manifestations. Psychological stress may worsen reflux symptoms by altering gastrointestinal motility, increasing esophageal sensitivity, and disrupting the brain-gut axis, while persistent reflux can negatively affect quality of life and contribute to psychological distress. Despite this evidence, public understanding of this relationship remains limited, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
aimThis study aimed to assess the self-reported relationship between anxiety symptoms and GERD-related symptoms, evaluate public awareness regarding this relationship, and identify associated sociodemographic and lifestyle factors among participants in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among adults residing in Jeddah using a convenience nonprobability sampling technique. The minimum required sample size was calculated using G*Power software (ver. 3.1 Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; α = 0.05, power = 95%, effect size = 0.30, and five degrees of freedom), yielding a minimum of 220 participants. Data were collected through a bilingual (Arabic and English) self-administered questionnaire developed by the research team and reviewed by experts for face and content validity, as well as an electronic questionnaire distributed via social media. The survey assessed sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, reflux symptoms, anxiety-related factors, and knowledge of the self-reported association between anxiety symptoms and GERD. Data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 28.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY; 2021). Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were applied, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
resultsA total of 388 participants were included in the study. Of these, 90 (23.2%) reported having been diagnosed with GERD by a healthcare professional, while 167 (43.0%) describe the proportion of participants who reported regularly experiencing anxiety symptoms. Heartburn was the most frequently reported symptom, with 226 cases (58.2%). A significant self-reported association was observed between GERD and age (p = 0.027), as well as between anxiety symptoms and several sociodemographic and lifestyle factors (p < 0.05). Participants demonstrated variable levels of knowledge regarding the relationship between anxiety and GERD.
conclusionThe study found that self-reported anxiety symptoms and reflux-related symptoms were commonly reported among participants in Jeddah. A substantial proportion of participants also perceived worsening of reflux-related symptoms during periods of anxiety or stress. These findings reflect self-reported symptoms and perceptions and do not establish a clinical diagnosis of anxiety or anxiety-associated GERD or a causal relationship between the two conditions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.