A

Disease A

Slug:Obesity
B

Disease B

Slug:Gastroesophageal_Reflux_Disease
G

Causal Mechanism Graphs

Obesity

graph LR
    Depletion_of_Mucosal_Symbiont_Akkermansia_muciniphila["Depletion of Mucosal Symbiont Akkermansia muciniphila"]
    GLP_1_Receptor_Agonists["GLP-1 Receptor Agonists"]
    Efficient_Intestinal_Energy_Harvest["Efficient Intestinal Energy Harvest"]
    Hypothalamic_Dysregulation["Hypothalamic Dysregulation"]
    Chronic_Low_Grade_Inflammation["Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation"]
    GLP_1_GIP_Dual_Agonists["GLP-1/GIP Dual Agonists"]
    Pasteurized_Akkermansia_muciniphila_MucT_Supplementation["Pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT Supplementation"]
    High_Calorie_Diet["High-Calorie Diet"]
    Naltrexone_Bupropion["Naltrexone-Bupropion"]
    Post_Weight_Loss_Weight_Regain["Post-Weight-Loss Weight Regain"]
    Lifestyle_Modification["Lifestyle Modification"]
    Intestinal_Barrier_Dysfunction_and_Metabolic_Endotoxemia["Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction and Metabolic Endotoxemia"]
    Bariatric_Surgery["Bariatric Surgery"]
    Energy_Imbalance["Energy Imbalance"]
    Obesogenic_Environment["Obesogenic Environment"]
    Increased_Body_Mass_Index["Increased Body Mass Index"]
    Orlistat["Orlistat"]

    Depletion_of_Mucosal_Symbiont_Akkermansia_muciniphila --> Intestinal_Barrier_Dysfunction_and_Metabolic_Endotoxemia
    Intestinal_Barrier_Dysfunction_and_Metabolic_Endotoxemia --> Chronic_Low_Grade_Inflammation
    Efficient_Intestinal_Energy_Harvest --> Energy_Imbalance
    Post_Weight_Loss_Weight_Regain --> Increased_Body_Mass_Index
    High_Calorie_Diet --> Energy_Imbalance
    Obesogenic_Environment --> Increased_Body_Mass_Index
    Lifestyle_Modification --> Energy_Imbalance
    GLP_1_Receptor_Agonists --> Hypothalamic_Dysregulation
    GLP_1_Receptor_Agonists --> Energy_Imbalance
    GLP_1_Receptor_Agonists --> Post_Weight_Loss_Weight_Regain
    GLP_1_GIP_Dual_Agonists --> Energy_Imbalance
    GLP_1_GIP_Dual_Agonists --> Post_Weight_Loss_Weight_Regain
    Bariatric_Surgery --> Hypothalamic_Dysregulation
    Bariatric_Surgery --> Energy_Imbalance
    Orlistat --> Efficient_Intestinal_Energy_Harvest
    Orlistat --> Post_Weight_Loss_Weight_Regain
    Naltrexone_Bupropion --> Hypothalamic_Dysregulation
    Pasteurized_Akkermansia_muciniphila_MucT_Supplementation --> Post_Weight_Loss_Weight_Regain
    Pasteurized_Akkermansia_muciniphila_MucT_Supplementation --> Efficient_Intestinal_Energy_Harvest
    Pasteurized_Akkermansia_muciniphila_MucT_Supplementation --> Intestinal_Barrier_Dysfunction_and_Metabolic_Endotoxemia

    style Depletion_of_Mucosal_Symbiont_Akkermansia_muciniphila fill:#dbeafe
    style GLP_1_Receptor_Agonists fill:#fce7f3
    style Efficient_Intestinal_Energy_Harvest fill:#dbeafe
    style Hypothalamic_Dysregulation fill:#dbeafe
    style Chronic_Low_Grade_Inflammation fill:#dbeafe
    style GLP_1_GIP_Dual_Agonists fill:#fce7f3
    style Pasteurized_Akkermansia_muciniphila_MucT_Supplementation fill:#fce7f3
    style High_Calorie_Diet fill:#dcfce7
    style Naltrexone_Bupropion fill:#fce7f3
    style Post_Weight_Loss_Weight_Regain fill:#dbeafe
    style Lifestyle_Modification fill:#fce7f3
    style Intestinal_Barrier_Dysfunction_and_Metabolic_Endotoxemia fill:#dbeafe
    style Bariatric_Surgery fill:#fce7f3
    style Energy_Imbalance fill:#dbeafe
    style Obesogenic_Environment fill:#dcfce7
    style Increased_Body_Mass_Index fill:#fef3c7
    style Orlistat fill:#fce7f3

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

graph LR
    Esophageal_Mucosal_Injury["Esophageal Mucosal Injury"]
    Na+K+_ATPase_Beta1_Gene_Therapy["Na+,K+-ATPase Beta1 Gene Therapy"]
    Alcohol_Consumption["Alcohol Consumption"]
    Tight_Junction_Protein_Loss["Tight Junction Protein Loss"]
    Dietary_Factors["Dietary Factors"]
    Lower_Esophageal_Sphincter_Dysfunction["Lower Esophageal Sphincter Dysfunction"]
    Dilated_Intercellular_Spaces["Dilated Intercellular Spaces"]

    Tight_Junction_Protein_Loss --> Dilated_Intercellular_Spaces
    Dilated_Intercellular_Spaces --> Esophageal_Mucosal_Injury
    Alcohol_Consumption --> Lower_Esophageal_Sphincter_Dysfunction
    Dietary_Factors --> Lower_Esophageal_Sphincter_Dysfunction
    Na+K+_ATPase_Beta1_Gene_Therapy --> Tight_Junction_Protein_Loss

    style Esophageal_Mucosal_Injury fill:#dbeafe
    style Na+K+_ATPase_Beta1_Gene_Therapy fill:#fce7f3
    style Alcohol_Consumption fill:#dcfce7
    style Tight_Junction_Protein_Loss fill:#dbeafe
    style Dietary_Factors fill:#dcfce7
    style Lower_Esophageal_Sphincter_Dysfunction fill:#dbeafe
    style Dilated_Intercellular_Spaces fill:#dbeafe
S

Association Signals

Signal 1
LITERATURE LITERATURE_ASSOCIATION A_BEFORE_B
Population:Meta-analysis of 20 studies comprising 18,346 patients with GERD; the quantified estimate is the United States stratum, where the association was homogeneous. The European stratum was heterogeneous despite stratification and is deliberately not carried as a metric.
Temporal: A before B: , B before A: , Same time:
OR: 2.15
CI: 1.89 - 2.45
p:
FDR:
Odds of GERD in obese versus normal-BMI subjects in the US stratum. The overweight stratum of the same analysis gives OR 1.57 (1.36-1.80), so the two are ordered by BMI category as a dose-response would predict.
PMID:16952280 (SUPPORT)
Source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
"1.36-1.80, overweight, OR = 1.57, P value homogeneity = 0.51, 95% CI = 1.89-2.45, obese, OR = 2.15"
Carries both BMI strata of the US estimate. The quote starts mid-clause because the abstract prints each confidence interval before its point estimate inside a bracketed span; the obese-stratum OR 2.15 (1.89-2.45) is the value recorded in the metric above.
PMID:16952280 (SUPPORT)
Source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
"We identified 20 studies that included 18,346 patients with GERD."
Establishes the pooled sample behind the effect estimate recorded here.
PMID:16952280 (SUPPORT)
Source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
"Studies from Europe provided heterogeneous results despite stratification for several factors"
The reason this metric is scoped to the US stratum rather than reported as a single pooled figure.
H

Hypotheses

Increasing body mass index raises intra-abdominal and intragastric pressure and promotes hiatal hernia formation, mechanically favoring gastroesophageal reflux; obesity is a major modifiable risk state for GERD.
PMID:16952280 (SUPPORT)
Source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
"demonstrates a positive association between increasing BMI and the presence of GERD"
Meta-analysis of 20 studies. The association held within US studies after stratification by country, while European studies were heterogeneous. Carried over from the original `Gastroesophageal_Reflux_Disease.yaml` `environmental:` entry, in the post-dismech#10003 form that entry now carries on `main`.
Y

Raw YAML

Show YAML
name: com_Obesity__Gastroesophageal_Reflux_Disease
creation_date: "2026-08-19T00:00:00Z"
curation_status: CANDIDATE
notes: >-
  Split out of `kb/disorders/Gastroesophageal_Reflux_Disease.yaml`'s
  `environmental:` block (dismech#8551): that entry listed `Obesity` as an
  "exposure" acting on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), but obesity is
  a first-class `Disease` entry in its own right (`kb/disorders/Obesity.yaml`),
  a body state rather than something external to the organism the patient is
  exposed to. Modeling the relationship as a disease-disease comorbidity
  avoids a near-tautological "exposure" edge that ECTO/XCO can never bind a
  term for. Directionality is A_BEFORE_B: obesity is conventionally modeled as
  an antecedent, modifiable risk state for GERD (raised intra-abdominal
  pressure promoting reflux). The `Hiatal Hernia` entry in the same
  `environmental:` block is left untouched, since no `kb/disorders/` entry for
  hiatal hernia yet exists to migrate it to. Evidence is carried over unchanged
  from the original `environmental:` entry rather than dropped.

disease_a:
  slug: Obesity
  preferred_term: obesity disorder
  term:
    id: MONDO:0011122
    label: obesity disorder

disease_b:
  slug: Gastroesophageal_Reflux_Disease
  preferred_term: gastroesophageal reflux disease
  term:
    id: MONDO:0007186
    label: gastroesophageal reflux disease

directionality: A_BEFORE_B
effect_direction: RISK

hypotheses:
- description: >-
    Increasing body mass index raises intra-abdominal and intragastric
    pressure and promotes hiatal hernia formation, mechanically favoring
    gastroesophageal reflux; obesity is a major modifiable risk state for
    GERD.
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:16952280
    reference_title: "Body mass index and gastroesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis"
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: "demonstrates a positive association between increasing BMI and the presence of GERD"
    explanation: >-
      Meta-analysis of 20 studies. The association held within US studies
      after stratification by country, while European studies were
      heterogeneous. Carried over from the original
      `Gastroesophageal_Reflux_Disease.yaml` `environmental:` entry, in the
      post-dismech#10003 form that entry now carries on `main`.

association_signals:
- source: LITERATURE
  method: LITERATURE_ASSOCIATION
  population: >-
    Meta-analysis of 20 studies comprising 18,346 patients with GERD; the
    quantified estimate is the United States stratum, where the association was
    homogeneous. The European stratum was heterogeneous despite stratification
    and is deliberately not carried as a metric.
  directionality: A_BEFORE_B
  effect_direction: RISK
  statistics:
    metrics:
    - metric_type: OR
      metric_value: 2.15
      metric_ci_lower: 1.89
      metric_ci_upper: 2.45
      notes: >-
        Odds of GERD in obese versus normal-BMI subjects in the US stratum. The
        overweight stratum of the same analysis gives OR 1.57 (1.36-1.80), so
        the two are ordered by BMI category as a dose-response would predict.
    evidence:
    - reference: PMID:16952280
      reference_title: "Body mass index and gastroesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis"
      supports: SUPPORT
      evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
      snippet: "1.36-1.80, overweight, OR = 1.57, P value homogeneity = 0.51, 95% CI = 1.89-2.45, obese, OR = 2.15"
      explanation: >-
        Carries both BMI strata of the US estimate. The quote starts mid-clause
        because the abstract prints each confidence interval before its point
        estimate inside a bracketed span; the obese-stratum OR 2.15 (1.89-2.45)
        is the value recorded in the metric above.
    - reference: PMID:16952280
      reference_title: "Body mass index and gastroesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis"
      supports: SUPPORT
      evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
      snippet: "We identified 20 studies that included 18,346 patients with GERD."
      explanation: >-
        Establishes the pooled sample behind the effect estimate recorded here.
    - reference: PMID:16952280
      reference_title: "Body mass index and gastroesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis"
      supports: SUPPORT
      evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
      snippet: "Studies from Europe provided heterogeneous results despite stratification for several factors"
      explanation: >-
        The reason this metric is scoped to the US stratum rather than reported
        as a single pooled figure.
Source:GitHub