Hiatal hernia predisposes to nocturnal gastro‐oesophageal reflux

Background Nocturnal reflux has been associated with severe complications of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease and a poorer quality of life. Hiatal hernia predisposes to increased oesophageal acid exposure, but the effect on night reflux symptoms has never been investigated. The aim of the study was to investigate if hiatal hernia is associated with more frequent and severe night reflux symptoms. Methods A total of 215 consecutive patients (110 male, mean age 52.6 ± 14.7 years) answered a detailed questionnaire on frequency and severity of specific day and night reflux symptoms. Subsequently, all patients underwent upper endoscopy and were categorized in two groups based on the endoscopic presence of hiatal hernia. Results Patients with hiatal hernia were more likely to have nocturnal symptoms compared to those without hiatal hernia (78.6 vs. 51.8%, p = 0.0001); 59.2% of patients with hiatal hernia reported heartburn and 60.2% regurgitation compared to 43.8 and 39.3% of those without hiatal hernia, respectively ( p = 0.033 and p = 0.003). The proportions of patients with day heartburn or regurgitation were not significantly different between the two groups. Night heartburn and regurgitation were graded as significantly more severe by patients with hiatal hernia (4.9 ± 4.2 vs. 3.2 ± 3.7, p = 0.002, and 3.8 ± 4.2 vs. 2.2 ± 3.5, p = 0.001, respectively). Patients with hiatal hernia had more frequent weekly night heartburn and regurgitation compared to those without hiatal hernia ( p = 0.004 and p = 0.008, respectively). Conclusions More patients with hiatal hernia reported nocturnal reflux symptoms compared to those without hiatal hernia. Furthermore, nocturnal reflux symptoms were significantly more frequent and graded as significantly more severe in patients with presence of hiatal hernia rather than in those without hiatal hernia.