The typical age of adolescent onset is 12.9, give or take 0.4 years (±), with males affected sooner than females (11.0 ± 0.8 for males versus 13.8 ± 0.5 for females).There is little evidence concerning the impact of hereditary influence in rumination syndrome. However, case reports involving entire families with rumination exist. History
The term rumination is derived from the Latin word ruminare, which means to chew the cud. First described in ancient times, and mentioned in the writings of Aristotle, rumination syndrome was clinically documented in 1618 by Italian anatomist Fabricus ab Aquapendente, who wrote of the symptoms in a patient of his.Among the earliest cases of rumination was that of a physician in the nineteenth century, Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard, who acquired the condition as the result of experiments upon himself. As a way of evaluating and testing the acid response of the stomach to various foods, the doctor would swallow sponges tied to a string, then intentionally regurgitate them to analyze the contents. As a result of these experiments, the doctor eventually regurgitated his meals habitually by reflex.Numerous case reports exist from before the twentieth century, but were influenced greatly by the methods and thinking used in that time. By the early twentieth century, it was becoming increasingly evident that rumination presented itself in a variety of ways in response to a variety of conditions.
The swallowing of air immediately prior to regurgitation causes the activation of the belching reflex that triggers the relaxation of the LES. Patients often describe a feeling similar to the onset of a belch preceding rumination. Diagnosis
Rumination syndrome is diagnosed based on a complete history of the individual. Costly and invasive studies such as gastroduodenal manometry and esophageal pH testing are unnecessary and will often aid in misdiagnosis. Based on typical observed features, several criteria have been suggested for diagnosing rumination syndrome. The primary symptom, the regurgitation of recently ingested food, must be consistent, occurring for at least six weeks of the past twelve months. The regurgitation must begin within 30 minutes of the completion of a meal. Patients may either chew the regurgitated matter or expel it. The symptoms must stop within 90 minutes, or when the regurgitated matter becomes acidic. The symptoms must not be the result of a mechanical obstruction, and should not respond to the standard treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease.In adults, the diagnosis is supported by the absence of classical or structural diseases of the gastrointestinal system. Supportive criteria include a regurgitant that does not taste sour or acidic, is generally odourless, is effortless, or at most preceded by a belching sensation, that there is no retching preceding the regurgitation, and that the act is not associated with nausea or heartburn.Patients visit an average of five physicians over 2.75 years before being correctly diagnosed with rumination syndrome.