Is gastroesophageal reflux disease a comorbidity of burning mouth syndrome? A cross-sectional, real-world study.

BackgroundThe etiology of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients remains unclear and systemic conditions concurrently with BMS are viewed with greater scrutiny. The present study aimed to reveal whether gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the possible comorbidity of BMS.MethodsIn our study, a real-world design was employed, enrolling BMS patients from an oral medicine clinic and capturing data in a non-interventional, cross-sectional setting. Endoscopy and the Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire (GERDQ) were used to assess the potential GERD patients. Demographics, clinical symptoms and signs were compared between both the GERD and non-GERD groups, and GERDQ ≥8 and <8 groups. Meanwhile, GERDQ items were assessed to determine predictive value.ResultsIn total, 124 BMS patients with GERDQ scores were enrolled, of whom 84 patients were screened by endoscopy. GERD were confirmed by endoscopy in 30.95% (26/84) of patients with BMS, whereas 69.05% (58/84) showed no definite evidence of GERD. When GERDQ with a cutoff score of 8 was utilized for screening all 124 BMS patients, 25.8% (32/124) had GERDQ scores ≥8. When considering the endoscopic diagnosis as the golden standard due to the low availability of 24-h pH monitoring, the specificity and sensitivity were 79.2% and 46.2% respectively. Clinically, altered taste (p = 0.022) and thickened tongue coating (p = 0.001) were significantly more common in the GERDQ ≥8 group, whereas no significant difference was revealed between endoscopy approved GERD and non-GERD groups.ConclusionsGERD may represent a potential systemic comorbidity in BMS patients and GERDQ might serve as the screening tool assisting healthcare professionals. Altered taste and thickened tongue coating might be suggestive for potential GERD symptoms in BMS patients. Further research is desired to elucidate the mechanisms linking such conditions.