[Semiology of gastroduodenal ulcer proved by endoscopy: epidemiological analysis of 1,800 cases]

The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and endoscopic signs, the nutritional status, the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, and other associated factors in a population of 1,800 patients with endoscopically proven gastric (n = 501) or duodenal ulcer (n = 1235) and then to identify the risk factors in comparison to the French population. Patients with gastric ulcer were older, more often widowed if male, otherwise more often female, were more frequently treated by non-steroid drugs, and had a lipid-rich nutrition more often in comparison to patients with duodenal ulcers. Patients with duodenal ulcer were more often native from the Magreb and their nutrition was more often rich in spices in comparison to patients with gastric ulcer. The associations between use of non-steroidal drugs and consumption of spices disappeared after adjustment by multidimensional analysis. Patients with duodenal ulcer lived more frequently in the Ile de France area in comparison to patients with gastric ulcer. Patients with gastric ulcer worked more often as farmers in comparison to patients with duodenal ulcer and in comparison to the total French population. These differences remained after adjustment. The consumption of tobacco was higher in patients with gastric or duodenal ulcer in comparison to the mean consumption of the total French population.