Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Mar;43(1):161-73.
doi: 10.1016/j.gtc.2013.11.009. Epub 2013 Dec 27.

Obesity and GERD

Paul Chang  1 , Frank Friedenberg  2
Affiliations
Review

Obesity and GERD

Paul Chang et al. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2014 Mar.

Abstract

Epidemiologic data have demonstrated that obesity is an important risk factor for the development of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). There is also accumulating data that obesity is associated with complications related to longstanding reflux such as erosive esophagitis, Barrett esophagus, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Central obesity, rather than body mass index, appears to be more closely associated with these complications. Surgical data are confounded by the concomitant repair of prevalent hiatal hernias in many patients.

Keywords: Adiponectin; Barrett esophagus; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Leptin; Obesity; Waist-to-hip ratio.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
World map of obesity and GERD prevalence in select countries. The obesity prevalence coded by the color key. The percentages indicate the GERD prevalence. Data from Refs 2, , –.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Mechanism of increased abdominal obesity leading to Barrett's esophagus. The increased adipose tissue leads to increases in leptin and TNFα which have been linked to a higher risk of Barrett's. Increased adipose tissue has also been inversely linked with adiponectin levels which are protective for the development of Barrett's.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Summary of potential pathogenic mechanisms in the obese leading to GERD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hom C, Vaezi MF. Extraesophageal manifestations of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2013;42(1):71–91. - PubMed
    1. El-Serag HB, Sweet S, Winchester CC, et al. Update on the epidemiology of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review. Gut. 2013 - PMC - PubMed
    1. El-Serag H. The association between obesity and GERD: a review of the epidemiological evidence. Dig Dis Sci. 2008;53(9):2307–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. El-Serag HB, Hashmi A, Garcia J, et al. Visceral abdominal obesity measured by CT scan is associated with an increased risk of Barrett's oesophagus: a case-control study. Gut. 2013 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kit BK, et al. Prevalence of obesity and trends in the distribution of body mass index among US adults, 1999–2010. JAMA. 2012;307(5):491–7. - PubMed