[Ulcerative colitis. A contribution to the discussion of causes].

A group of patients with a sure diagnosis of colitis ulcerosa (n = 17) was compared with a same-sized group with eating disorders (anorexia nervosa/adipositas) and a group of neurotic patients who also had great physical complaints (n = 169) in regard to their strain experienced during childhood and youth. The groups are homogenous concerning age and sex. The results show that the colitis patients have a corresponding strain score to that of healthy persons and therefore lie far above the average strain score of neurotic people. We interpret this result as an indication that we have to view colitis ulcerosa as a somatic psychosomatosa and that the variance share of psychogenic influences should be judged as being rather low.