Obesity, HRT, and Reflux

This study reopens the issue of obesity as a risk factor for reflux symptoms and provides new evidence about the effects of HRT on this association.

Results of recent population-based studies have shown little or no association between increased body-mass index (BMI) and gastroesophageal reflux symptoms. Furthermore, data on an association between weight reduction and reflux have been mixed, and studies on this topic have been flawed by observational biases. In one investigation (Scand J Gastroenterol 2002; 37:626), researchers demonstrated a strong association between increased BMI and reflux esophagitis in women -- an association further strengthened in women who were using hormone-replacement therapy (HRT). To reexamine the relation between BMI and reflux symptoms and to determine HRT's effect on this association, the same group has now performed a population-based, cross-sectional, …

Reviewing Author

David A. Johnson, MD