Obesity and heartburn in women

Obese people, particularly women have a substantially greater risk of developing chronic acid reflux than their slimmer counterparts, according to a recent study. While many people experience acid reflux occasionally, especially after a spicy meal, those with persistent heartburn and acid regurgitation have a more serious condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. In patients with GERD, a muscular valve between the oesophagus and stomach weakens or relaxes inappropriately, allowing acidic digestive juices in the stomach to flow back up, or "reflux," into the oesophagus. The acid can irritate and burn the oesophagus, and in rare cases can cause cancer. Researchers at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden based their study on a survey conducted in Norway. They compared 3,113 people who said they had recurrent, severe heartburn or acid regurgitation during the prior 12 months with another 39,872 people who reported no such symptoms.

They found that those with a body mass index (BMI) over 35, which is considered severely obese, were more than six times as likely to have GERD as women with a BMI below 25, which is considered normal. BMI is a standardised measure that takes into account weight and height. (It is calculated by dividing the weight (in kilograms) by the square of one's height (in metres). However among men, those with a BMI over 35 were more than three times as likely to have GERD as those with a BMI below 25.The findings suggest that oestrogen may play a role in GERD, as the association between obesity and reflux was stronger among premenopausal than postmenopausal women. However, use of oestrogen replacement therapy among postmenopausal women strengthened the link.

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