About 1 out of every 10 people in Europe and North America will have a peptic ulcer at some time.1 Ulcers can occur at any age, but they are rare in children. Children who do have ulcers are more likely to have duodenal, rather than gastric, ulcers.
Peptic ulcer disease tends to occur in people who are also infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria or who use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- About 1 out of 10 people who are infected with H. pylori develop peptic ulcer disease.2
- Similarly, about 1 out of 10 people who use high doses of NSAIDs, such as people who have rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, develop peptic ulcer disease and the problems caused by ulcers, such as bleeding and perforation.3
References
Citations
Cryer B, Spechler SJ (2006). Peptic ulcer disease. In M Feldman et al., eds., Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 8th ed., vol. 1, pp. 1089–1110. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
Feldman M, Le MS (2007). Peptic ulcer diseases. In DC Dale, DD Federman, eds., ACP Medicine, section 4, chap. 2. New York: WebMD.
Lanza FL, et al. (1998). A guideline for the treatment and prevention of NSAID-induced ulcers. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 93(11): 2037–2046.
Credits
| Author | Monica Rhodes |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Associate Editor | Denele Ivins |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman, MATC |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Andrew H. Soll, MD - Gastroenterology |
| Last Updated | January 7, 2008 |
