“From my personal observations, I believe that around 80 per cent of the city suffer from some form of GERD, but only 40 per cent of that number come in for treatment,” he said. 

The age of patients coming in for treatment has also dipped, said Dr Muralidharan, senior Consultant surgeon, department of Gastroenterology, Kauvery Hospital. Where typically this disease affects the elderly, the shutdown conditions have brought in a younger demographic suffering from binge-eating and increased stress. 

Most of the patients are new, while a few return due to relapse. 

“Two factors that cause this are weight gain and eating habits. Patients have increased BMI and body weight compared to earlier visits, and state that their eating habits have also regressed. Many are openly stating that they are stressed due to work and financial issues, which also triggers the conditions,” said Dr Muralidharan. 

For returning patients, many have shown worsening of conditions, he added. “We see patients with lower esophageal infections. Some even have issues with their stomach linings due to the dietary habits combined with the condition,” said Dr Muralidharan. 

However, with the shutdown relaxing and many returning to their typical routines, doctors are cautiously hopeful that patients will be able to recover. 

“Bad habits are difficult to break, but people need to be cautious of their dietary and lifestyle habits. Try not to continue your pandemic snacking habits and get in a little bit of exercise daily to prevent cases of GERD,” said Dr Srinivas.