Abstract
We aimed to investigate the effect of primary Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) on gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) in patients with obesity. A systematic review was performed using MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, and CINAHL databases for studies that reported on GORD outcomes following RYGB for obesity (January 2000-November 2023). Fourteen studies with 28,027 patients underwent RYGB, with pooled analysis demonstrating a 47% (95% CI 34.0-59.0; p ≤ 0.005) improvement in GORD symptoms and 4.5% (95% CI 1.7-7.2; p ≤ 0.005) with worsening/new onset GORD. Postoperative DeMeester score improved by 16.49 points (95% CI 0.2-32.7; p ≤ 0.005) and 79.4% (95% CI 68.7-90.1; p = 0.01) completely discontinued proton-pump inhibitor therapy during the follow-up period. RYGB surgery may potentially improve GORD symptoms in patients with obesity, with an overall low incidence of de novo GORD.