FACTS ABOUT ULCERS
Q. So many people we know complain about their ulcers. How common are they in the community?
A. All kinds of statistics have been quoted over the years. Several studies carried out in Britain show that by the age of 55 years, between 6 and 20% of people have suffered from one. At any given time, in Australia, it is believed that between 2 and 4% of the population suffer from them. Many have an ulcer and are unaware of it, or have minimum symptoms. This covers about 25%. About 50% have fairly severe symptoms, but with treatment manage reasonably well, and live a fairly normal life.
The remaining 25% endure severe symptoms often with complications which make life difficult.
Q. Does it affect men more than women?
A. Peptic ulcer seems to trouble men more commonly. In the general world scene, stomach ulcer is 2-3 times more common in men, and duodenal ulcer 3-5 times more common in males, although in Australia, according to some doctors, gastric ulcer is more common in women.
Q. When is the most likely age for these to develop?
A. Peptic ulcers may occur at any time from youth to old age. However, the most common age for duodenal ulcers is around 30 years, and gastric ulcers about 40 years of age.
Q. Are they inherited?
A. Like many disorders, the tendency is believed to be inherited. Just as with heart disease and diabetes, there is an increased risk if the parents suffered with the disorder. One of these days, it may be possible to predetermine if a person will develop ulcers.
At present the researchers are carrying out an intriguing activity called ‘gene mapping’. Here, they are able to locate on the chromosome the extact spot or locus in which a certain disease is inherited. So, by mapping baby’s genes before birth, it may be possible to tell if he is predestined to develop heart disease, cancer, diabetes, peptic ulcers … and some claim that his potential for developing into a criminal may also be told. Others dispute this, but it is definitely in the pipe line.
Q. We often hear the claim that successful businessmen are more prone to develop ulcers. Is this fact or fantasy?
A. The current view is that it is fallacy. Duodenal ulcers seem just as common in any social group. Some British claims say that stomach ulcers are more likely in those of lower social standards.
A. I live and work in an area where there is a lot of industry. I see many of the workers, plus many of the executives of these companies. It often seems that the greater the pressure on a person, mentally speaking, the greater chance he has of developing an ulcer. It may be a figment of my imagination. But I figure that the more mental anxiety and stress the person is subjected to, the greater the number of impulses racing to the acid producing glands of the stomach. And the greater amount of acid pumped out. So, an increased ulcer risk.
Q. Don’t you relate this to your treatment of some people with medical hypnotherapy?
A. As you know, I have also been practising medical hypnotherapy — or relaxation therapy as I prefer to call it — for fifteen years or so. This aims at completely relaxing the system, specially the nervous system and the areas to which the nerves travel.
For many years I have noticed that folk who are tense, anxious and pent up, the very ones with a knot in the stomach, too much acid, tummy upsets, ulcers, are the very ones who seem to respond well to relaxation treatment. I figure out that less tension, less impulses travelling to the acid glands, less acid produced, leads to a reduced risk of stomach upsets and probably a reduced risk of ulcers. Certainly I am not claiming a cure for ulcers, but it appears to help in conjunction with other treatment.
However, this is purely a personal note injected for good measure, for I feel it is relevant. Anxious, stress ridden individuals can often help themselves, of that there is little doubt in my mind.
But, generally speaking, the experts today do not relate ulcers to specific social or economic situations apart from those mentioned.
Q. What about the relationship of ulcers to other conditions. Is this likely?
A. Some time ago it was found that peptic ulcers seemed more common in people with blood group O, and also those with the liver disease called cirrhosis. I might add that cirrhosis, or destruction of the normal liver tissue and its replacement with useless fibrous tissue, is more common in heavy, chronic drinkers.
Ulcers also seem related to some other medical conditions, such as the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome in which a diseased pancreatic gland causes an enormous over-secretion of acid in the stomach. Sometimes a rare disease of the parathyroid glands (which are located in the thyroid gland in the neck) may play a part; Cushing’s syndrome, a disease of the supra-renal glands which sit on top of the kidneys may be associated with a reduced ulcer risk, although if there is too much cortisone-like hormones in the blood stream, this may delay ulcer healing.
Q. What about drugs. Can these upset the lining and cause ulcers to form?
A. The picture is a bit confused, although many doctors believe they play an important part. It has been found that people with ulcers tend to take excessive analgesics such as aspirin products, and smoke more heavily than those with no ulcer. Therefore, the two are often linked, but others claim this does not necessarily say one causes the other. In short, ‘they probably have little effect,’ says one prominent Sydney-based ulcer expert. He also says that ‘there is no convincing evidence that stress or anxiety play any role in the causation and natural history of chronic peptic ulcer, or that any personality type predisposes to peptic ulcer.’
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