Korean J Gastroenterol.  2010 Feb;55(2):109-118. 10.4166/kjg.2010.55.2.109.

The Relationship between the Popular Beverages in Korea and Reported Postprandial Heartburn

• Kim YK
• Moon JS
• Ryu SH
• Lee JH
• Kim YS

• KMID: 1718294
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4166/kjg.2010.55.2.109

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of heartburn produced by beverages available in Korea and to clarify the mechanism causing heartburn.
METHODS
We measured pH, titratable acidity, and osmolality of 35 beverages in vitro and correlated them with the severity of heartburn reported by questionnaire in 382 patients from November 2004 to June 2005.
RESULTS
Coffee (1.15) and soju (1.12) showed the highest heartburn score, while oolong tea (0.17) and carrot juice (0.18) showed the lowest heartburn score among all beverages. Titratable acidity of citrus juices correlated with heartburn (r=0.78; p=0.023). Soft drinks had the lowest pH, which was unrelated with heartburn scores (r=-0.54; p=0.460). Increasing pH among alcoholic beverages was correlated with heartburn scores (r=0.84; p=0.037), and osmolality was inversely associated with heartburn scores (r=-0.86; p=0.028). The heartburn score of decaffeinated coffee was significantly lower than that of regular coffee (p<0.001). Regular milk caused more heartburn than low-fat milk (p=0.008).
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings provide dietary information that helps to select appropriate beverages to the patients with heartburn.

Keyword

Heartburn; Beverage; pH; Osmolality; Titratable acidity

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alcoholic Beverages
Animals
*Beverages
Cattle
Coffee
Female
Heartburn/epidemiology/*etiology
Humans
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Male
Middle Aged
Milk
Osmolar Concentration
Postprandial Period
Questionnaires
Republic of Korea
Tea

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Relationship between titratable acidity of citrus juices and heartburn scores (r=0.78; p=0.023).

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  Fig. 2. Relationship between pH of alcoholic beverages and heartburn scores (r=0.84; p=0.037).

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  Fig. 3. Relationship between osmolality of alcoholic beverages and heartburn scores (r=−0.86; p=0.028).

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  Fig. 4. Relationship between ethanol concentration of alcoholic beverages and heartburn scores (p＞0.05).

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