Acid Reflux Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Acid Reflux, including details on diet, gerd (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), treatment, symptoms.

Postmenopausal hormone therapy as a risk factor for gastroesophageal reflux symptoms among female twins.

Nordenstedt H, Zheng Z, Cameron AJ, Ye W, Pedersen NL, Lagergren J

Unit of Esophageal and Gastric Research (ESOGAR), Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. helena.nordenstedt@ki.se

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Female sex hormones have been suggested to increase the risk of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms via a relaxing effect on the lower esophageal sphincter. We investigated the relationship of oral contraceptives and postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) to risk of reflux symptoms, controlling for genetic factors and body mass. METHODS: Information on exposures and reflux symptoms was obtained by telephone interviews conducted in 1998-2002 among women in the Swedish Twin Registry. Use of oral contraceptives was also assessed in 1973 by questionnaires. Both cross-sectional and prospective nested case-control designs were used, each with external control analysis. The cross-sectional design was further submitted to monozygotic co-twin control analysis. RESULTS: The cross-sectional study design comprised 4365 twins with reflux and 17,321 without. In ever users of estrogen HT, the risk of reflux symptoms was increased by 32% (odds ratio, 1.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-1.47). This association remained in the nested case-control analyses and increased slightly with higher body mass index. A similar pattern was observed for the use of progestin in the cross-sectional design, but no association remained in the nested case-control analysis. Use of oral contraceptives was not associated with an increased risk of reflux symptoms. Generally, the risk estimates remained virtually unchanged after adjustments for potential confounding factors, including genetic factors. CONCLUSIONS: This population-based twin study indicates that estrogen HT is an independent risk factor for reflux symptoms, while the influence of progestin HT and oral contraceptives is less consistent.

Published 8 April 2008 in Gastroenterology, 134(4): 921-8.
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Articles on Acid Reflux published 21 March 2008:

Idiopathic tracheal stenosis: successful outcome with antigastroesophageal reflux disease therapy.   Ann Thorac Surg, 85(4): 1438-9.

There is controversial evidence that gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is an etiologic factor for idiopathic laryngotracheal stenosis. We present the case of a 44-year-old woman with symptomatic tracheal stenosis managed as idiopathic stenosis. She underwent six endoscopic dilations during 1 year, and before surgery she underwent 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring that documented GERD. Anti-GERD treatment was started, which was confirmed as effective with 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring 3 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acid Reflux published 18 March 2008:

Surgical reintervention after antireflux surgery for gastroesophageal reflux disease: a prospective cohort study in 130 patients.   Arch Surg, 143(3): 267-74; discussion 274.

HYPOTHESIS: Surgical reintervention after antireflux surgery for gastroesophageal reflux disease is required in 3% to 6% of patients. The subjective outcome after reintervention has been reported in several studies, but objective results after these subsequent operations have rarely been published. The purpose of this study was to assess the symptomatic and objective outcomes in patients who underwent subsequent operation because of recurrent reflux symptoms or troublesome dysphagia after ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acid Reflux published 12 March 2008:

Presence of gas in the refluxate enhances reflux perception in non-erosive patients with physiological acid exposure of the oesophagus.   Gut, 57(4): 443-7.

OBJECTIVE: The mechanisms underlying symptoms in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, particularly in non-erosive reflux disease (NERD), remain to be fully elucidated. Weakly acidic reflux and the presence of gas in the refluxate could be relevant in the pathogenesis of symptoms. METHODS: To assess the relationship between symptoms and weakly acidic, acid and mixed (liquid-gas) reflux, 24 h oesophageal pH-impedance monitoring was performed in 32 NERD and in 20 oesophagitis patients. In 12 NERD ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acid Reflux published 7 March 2008:

The effect of auditory stress on perception of intraesophageal acid in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.   Gastroenterology, 134(3): 696-705.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Most patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) report that stress exacerbates their symptoms, yet mechanisms underlying this association remain unknown. We sought to determine the effect of an acute laboratory stressor on perceptual and emotional responses to intraesophageal acid perfusion in healthy controls and patients with GERD. METHODS: Forty-six patients with heartburn and 10 healthy controls underwent upper endoscopy and, if negative, pH monitoring. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acid Reflux published 5 March 2008:

Endoluminal gastroplication for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease: a 2-year prospective pilot study from Taiwan.   J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 23(3): 398-405.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Endoluminal gastroplication (ELGP) offers a minimally invasive option for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in Western countries. However, long-term outcomes of ELGP in Asian populations have not been investigated. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the long-term benefits of ELGP in Asian patients with GERD. METHODS: Taiwanese patients diagnosed with GERD were enrolled and had the procedure performed with EndoCinch. The assessment ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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BACKGROUND AND AIM: We conducted a community-based study to assess the incidence of newly-developed gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We also analyzed the risk factors of GERD occurrence. METHODS: A total of 322 patients without acid suppression therapy (135 men, mean age: 59.8 years), who lived in the Japanese community, took a QUEST questionnaire (a self-administered questionnaire for the screening of GERD) in 1998. Blood samples were taken for the measurement of an anti-Helicobacter ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Acid Reflux published 18 February 2008:

Efficacy of conservative therapy as taught in the primary care setting for symptoms suggesting infant gastroesophageal reflux.   J Pediatr, 152(3): 310-4.

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