Association between body mass index and erosive esophagitis: a meta-analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To conduct a meta-analysis to estimate the determinants of the association between erosive esophagitis (EE) and body mass index (BMI).


METHODS
We identified the studies using PubMed. Studies were selected for analysis based on certain inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted from each study on the basis of predefined items. Meta-analyses were performed to verify the risk factors, such as obesity and gender.


RESULTS
Twenty-one studies were included in this systematic review. These studies demonstrated an association between increasing BMI and the presence of EE [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35-1.88, overweight, odds ratio (OR) = 1.60, P value homogeneity = 0.003, 95% CI: 1.65-2.55, obese, OR = 2.05, P < 0.01]. The heterogeneity disappeared by stratifying for gender. No publication bias was observed in this meta-analysis by the Egger method.


CONCLUSIONS
This analysis demonstrates a positive association between BMI and the presence of EE, especially in males. The risk seems to progressively increase with increasing weight.
Department of Digestive Endoscopy and Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 121 Jiangjiayuan Road, Nanjing 210011, Jiangsu Province, China.
Nan
N
Cai
Guo-Zhong
GZ
Ji
Zhi-Ning
ZN
Fan
Yan-Feng
YF
Wu
Fa-Ming
FM
Zhang
Zhi-Fei
ZF
Zhao
Wei
W
Xu
Zheng
Z
Liu
D015992:Body Mass Index; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors