Demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and treatment response of patients with non-erosive reflux disease (n = 200)
| Demographic or clinical parameter | pH-POS/SAP+ | pH-POS/SAP− | pH-NEG/SAP+ | pH-NEG/SAP− | p Value |
| Patients, no | 71 | 10 | 65 | 54 | |
| Female patients, no | 29 | 4 | 35 | 37 | <0.01 |
| Patients with clinically relevant dyspeptic symptoms, no | 26 | 4 | 24 | 34 | <0.01 |
| Mean age, years (range) | 50.7 (20–78) | 51.9 (34–76) | 46.1 (22–77) | 45.8 (18–76) | NS |
| Mean body mass index (range) | 26.7 (18–42) | 27.3 (20–38) | 23.5 (19–41) | 22.9 (16–34) | <0.01 |
| Tobacco use, % | 21.1 | 30.0 | 23.1 | 25.9 | NS |
| Alcohol consumption, % | 40.8 | 40.0 | 33.8 | 35.2 | NS |
| Coffee consumption, % | 80.3 | 80.0 | 73.8 | 77.8 | NS |
| Prevalence of hiatal hernia, % | 76.1 | 80.0 | 43.1 | 42.6 | <0.01 |
| Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection, % | 8.5 | 10.0 | 9.2 | 9.3 | NS |
| Patients having previously received PPIs, no (%) | 46 (65) | 6 (60) | 62 (95) | 52 (96) | <0.01 |
| Positive (⩾50%) symptom response, no (%) | 34 (74) | 4 (67) | 33 (53) | 15 (29) | <0.01 |
NEG, negative; POS, positive; SAP, symptom association probability.