ABO blood groups, onset age of ulcer symptoms, family history of dyspepsia and complications in duodenal ulcer.

A series of 394 patients with duodenal ulcer was examined to determine the relationship of the blood groups with the age of onset of ulcer symptoms, with the family history of ulcer dyspepsia, and with ulcer complications. It was found that among patients whose symptoms began in the first four decades of life (Group I) there was a significantly larger proportion of blood group A, B, AB subjects and a significantly stronger family history of dyspepsia than among those whose symptoms began from the fifth decade of life (Group II). Group II had a significantly higher proportion of 0 subjects than both Group I and the control population. The mean onset age of patients with blood group 0 was significantly higher than the mean onset age of A, B, AB subjects. These results were uninfluenced by sex. Blood group A, B, AB patients had a significantly higher frequency of positive family history of dyspepsia over blood group 0 patients. The proportion of patients with blood group presenting gastrointestinal bleeding, acute perforation, severe pain, gastroduodenal stenosis or virulent ulcer (multiple, giant or post-bulbar ulcers) was no significantly higher than those blood groups A, B, AB.