title: Decline in duodenal ulcer surgery.
abstract: The number of perforated duodenal ulcers at five Seattle-area hospitals and all duodenal ulcer operations performed at three Seattle-area hospitals were studied. In the past ten years, a decline of 35% in both perforated duodenal ulcers and all duodenal ulcer surgery indicates a similar decline in the overall incidence of duodenal ulcer. These data are supported by articles in the literature, which report a declining incidence of duodenal ulcer beginning around 1955 and continuing for 20 years. This decline challenges the idea that duodenal ulcer results chiefly from the stresses of urbanization.
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D010439:Peptic Ulcer Perforation / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014507:Urbanization; D014861:Washington