CHENNAI: Gastrointestinal diseases, like irritable bowel syndrome and others, are on the rise due to lifestyle changes, said Dr Narayanasamy, vice chancellor, Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University.
Speaking at the Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme “GE CON 2023”, organised by MedIndia Hospital, Dr Narayanasamy said, lack of proper sleep and obesity are reasons for an increase in lifestyle diseases. Obesity does not only affect the heart but also affects the digestive system.
Today incidence of communicable diseases like Hepatitis B, C and E have come down, but lifestyle diseases are on the rise, he added. Dr T S Chandrasekar, founder, MedIndia Hospital launched GERD X treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
GERD is a medical condition that occurs when the acid in the stomach repeatedly flows back into the oesophagus. The incidence of GERD among the Indian population was indicated between 7% to 10% in a joint study undertaken by the Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) and the Association of Physicians of India (API) (2019). A specific pilot study undertaken among medical students in Chennai, reported in the Indian Journal of Forensic and Community Medicine indicated a GERD incidence of 14.4% (2018), according to the press release.