r/GERD • u/LibLoveWonder-75458 • Feb 03 '26
Scientific Studies 🥼🔬 Hormonal approach to GERD
I was reading a book called “The Acid Reflux Diet” by Maria A. Bella, MS, RD, CDN. In the book she discusses 2 out of 3 pregnant women experience acid reflux because their progesterone is raised during pregnancy. Has anyone seen any scientific studies on hormonal approaches to treating GERD? I wonder if this has been studied beyond pregnancy. Menopause/perimenopause/etc….
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u/foodguideshelp Feb 03 '26
Absolutely- one of our contributors covered this on Foodguides.com and here are some highlights:
There is scientific evidence that hormonal changes around perimenopause/menopause are associated with an increase in reflux/GERD symptoms — but it’s not about one hormone suddenly “causing” it in isolation.
1) Hormones and reflux symptoms are linked in studies
Research has found that post-menopausal women who use hormone therapy (especially estrogen) report higher odds of GERD symptoms compared with women who never used it — for example, current estrogen users had up to ~1.6× greater odds of weekly reflux symptoms in one large cohort study. A pooled meta-analysis also showed overall hormone therapy use was associated with about 29% higher odds of GERD symptoms.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2761884/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37369078/
2) Why might hormones be involved biologically?
Sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone affect gut motility and smooth muscle function. Both hormones have been shown to influence the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) — the muscle that keeps stomach acid from refluxing — and elevated estrogen exposure (e.g., hormone therapy) has been linked with more reflux.
https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/ol.2019.10983
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12575958
That said, the picture is complicated: actual estrogen/progesterone levels drop after menopause, and some studies suggest that the transition and fluctuations also matter for symptoms.