Description
Background: Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) is a group of heterogeneous chronic pulmonary disorders associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common comorbidity among ILD patients and has been associated with disease burden and progression. While prior studies have focused on demographic and clinical characteristics, social determinants of health (SDOH) and lifestyle factors remain underexplored. Objective: To examine SDOH and lifestyle-related factors among individuals with ILD and GERD. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 4,372 ILD patients from the All of Us Research Program cohort. A multivariate logistic regression was used to assess age, sex, race, Charlson Comorbidity Index, body mass index (BMI), area deprivation index (ADI), smoking status, alcohol use, employment status, household income, and education among ILD patients with and without GERD. Results: Older ILD patients had slightly increased odds of GERD (adjusted OR 1.005, p=0.046). ILD patients with higher comorbidity or with a Charlson index ‚â•3 (adjusted OR 2.07, p<0.001) and overweight/obesity (adjusted OR 1.53, p<0.001) had significantly increased odds of GERD. On the other hand, male (adjusted OR 0.67, p<0.001) and Hispanic patients (adjusted OR 0.77, p=0.029) had lower odds of GERD. Unemployed patients had higher odds (adjusted OR 1.45, p<0.001), while patients with higher ADI scores had lower odds (adjusted OR 0.86, p=0.038) of GERD. ILD patients with more frequent alcohol consumption than monthly had lower odds of GERD (adjusted OR 0.71, p<0.001). Patients with and without smoking had no different odds of GERD. Conclusions: ILD patients with and without GERD tended to differ in SDOH and lifestyle. Surprisingly, ILD patients who resided in a higher deprivation area or consumed alcohol frequently were less likely to have GERD. However, they did not differ in smoking status. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating SDOH and lifestyle factors to understand GERD burden among ILD populations and may inform targeted prevention and screening strategies.
Publication Info
2026.