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Does acute psychological stress increase perception of oesophageal acid?

Abstract  Gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) patients often report an increase in their reflux symptoms during stressful situations. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of acute psychological stress on oesophageal acid perception. In 15 healthy volunteers and 10 GORD patients with a positive symptom–reflux association an oesophageal acid perfusion test was performed, once with and once without the presence of an acute psychological stressor (IQ test). The order of the measurements was randomized. The time from onset of the acid infusion to first acid perception, discomfort and pain was noted. Blood pressure was measured to assess the effect of the stress task. In healthy volunteers, the time to first perception (control task: 617 ± 174 s vs stress task: 561 ± 162 s), discomfort (control task: 969 ± 158 s vs stress task: 940 ± 151 s) or pain (control task: 1393 ± 122 s vs stress task: 1366 ± 121 s) did not differ significantly between both measurements. In GORD patients, no significant differences between both measurements were found either in time to first perception (control task: 63 ± 26 s vs stress task: 43 ± 15 s), discomfort (control task: 153 ± 44 s vs stress task: 249 ± 62 s) or pain (control task: 558 ± 139 s vs stress task: 633 ± 118 s). Systolic blood pressure rose significantly during the stress task in both the healthy volunteers (6 ± 1 mmHg) and the GORD patients (9 ± 2 mmHg). Neither in the healthy volunteers nor in the GORD patients, the acute psychological stress induced by an IQ test increased oesophageal acid perception. The observed increase in systolic blood pressure shows that the experimental stressors were effective.