Racial differences in peptic ulcer disease: fact or myth?

It is believed by some that in the United States peptic ulcer is more common among nonwhites than whites even though there have been few studies on this topic. To shed more light on this area, data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics were analyzed. Crude rates from the Health Interview Survey (prevalence data), the Hospital Discharge Survey, and the Mortality Survey all show that whites have more peptic ulcer than nonwhites. Mortality data for the past 28 yr were analyzed with respects to age, race, sex, and type of ulcer. From 1949 to 1977, whites have had consistently higher crude death rates for both gastric and duodenal ulcers than nonwhites. During this same time period the age-adjusted mortality rates show a higher rate for nonwhites. It is concluded that age-specific rates need to be considered when evaluating how common peptic ulcer disease is in the white and nonwhite populations. Crude and age-adjusted mortality rates oversimplify the picture. Nonwhites have a higher mortality rate than white up to the age of 65-74 yr, but it becomes lower after that.