Factors associated with peptic ulcer in Taiwan: A case-control study

Purpose. This study compared demographic characteristics, lifestyle and family history of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) among patients with PUD and those without PUD. Methods. From 2001 to 2002, we recruited 102 patients with PUD among outpatients aged 18 years and older who had visited the gastrointestinal clinic and underwent endoscopy examinations at a medical center. Controls (N = 71) comprised patients without PUD from the same clinic. We collected data on age, height, weight, blood type, lifestyle, such as smoking, areca quid chewing and alcohol drinking, specific dietary habits, such as spice and vinegar consumption, and family disease history by self-reported questionnaire interviews. Results. There was a higher proportion of males in the patient group compared with control group (65.7% vs 42.3%, p = 0.002); individuals in the patient group were also older and had received lesser education than controls. Analyses on lifestyle and diet showed patients have higher ratio of smoking (44.1% vs 23.9%, p = 0.02) and areca quid chewing (14.7% vs 2.8%, p = 0.010) than controls. Compared with those who had more than 13 years of education, people educated 9-years and less were at a higher risk of peptic ulcer (OR = 6.76, 95% CI = 2.15 to 21.3). People with self-perceived stress were at higher risk of developing peptic ulcer than those who reported not having any stress (OR = 4.96, 95% CI = 2.03 to 12.1). Conclusions. Factors associated with PUD include low education, family history of the disease, and self-perceived stress. Larger scale studies are needed to further investigate the association.