Researchers have looked at belching disorder to help people with the condition burp less.
- People with belching disorder burp constantly, to the point of being bothered in their daily lives.
- Researchers have just established new origins of this condition, thus opening up new possible avenues of action.
- About 1% of adults worldwide suffer from belching disorders.
According to a new studychanging a few habits in our lifestyle can help reduce the number of times we burp per day.
Burping is a common natural bodily function, but when it reaches a level that interferes with daily life, it is called “eructation disorders”.
Belching disorders: the disease is more common in men
In order to find solutions to this discomfort, a research team led by Professor Yasuhiro Fujiwara of Osaka Metropolitan University conducted an online survey of 10,000 Japanese adults. The results showed that 1.5% of them (151 people) suffered from belching disorders. Symptoms of the disease were more common in men, alcohol drinkers, individuals who suffered from gastrointestinal disease, and people who took medications for acid reflux.
In addition, it was found that consistently eating well until full led to less burping. Furthermore, extremely low or conversely very high chewing frequency were significantly associated with the development of belching disorders.
Finally, and contrary to what one might think, high consumption of soft drinks did not cause more burps than the average within the cohort.
Belching disorders: new treatment options
“The problem with belching is that its treatment takes a long time and is only performed in a limited number of medical institutions,” said Yasuhiro Fujiwara. “In the future, assessing the number of times a person chews and improving certain eating habits in patients with belching disorders will be a treatment option,” he concludes.
As the survey detailed in this article has just confirmed, approximately 1% of adults worldwide suffer from belching disorders.
“For excessive belching, the diagnosis is very simple if the patient presents bursts of more or less noisy belching during the consultation. Often, they stop when the patient speaks, is concentrated or distracted.”explains gastroenterologist François Mion on the website of the French association for continuing medical education in hepato-gastroenterology.
“The diagnostic criteria for concluding that there is a belching disorder are as follows: bothersome burping (severe enough to impact on usual activities) at least 3 days per week, of gastric or supragastric origin”, he also indicates.