The epidemiological and endoscopic aspects of peptic ulcer disease in Van region

Ocjective The aim of this study was to determine epidemiological and endoscopic aspects of PU disease in Van region. Method We performed upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in 2735 patients with dyspeptic symptoms during the past three and a half years from June 1994 to December 1997 in our endoscopy unit. Results Peptic ulcer (PU) disease was diagnosed at different locations in 298 (10.9 %) patients. A hundred and ninety two patients (64.4%) were males and 106 patients (35.6%) were females. The mean age was 41.1 (range: minimum 17- maximum 80). A hundred and twenty seven patients (42.6%) reported smoking, 12 patients (4.0%) reported alcohol consumption and 42 patients (14.1%) reported nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) use. Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection was diagnosed in 82 % of the patients with peptic ulcer. In this study, we determined that Duodenal ulcer/Gastric ulcer ratio was 4:1. The locations of ulcers were 80% in the first part of the duodenum (bulbus) especially at the anterior surface, and 20% in the stomach. Seventeen percent of GU with suspected malign appearance were confirmed as adenocarcinoma by biopsies. Housewife and officers were the most frequent (28-31%) professional groups with peptic ulcer disease. Conclusion PU disease was thought to be an important social health problem in Van region related to HP infection, possibly smoking and stress factors in the middle age and male gender particularly.