History of dyspepsia in Scotland. Admissions to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary 1729-1830, doctoral theses 1726-1823, and contemporary British publications.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the study was to assess whether the rise in the occurrence of dyspepsia in Scotland during the eighteenth century was a true epidemiologic phenomenon or just an increase in medical awareness.


METHODS
Admissions for dyspepsia to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary from 1729 until 1830 were analysed by consecutive five-year time periods. The titles of MD theses on dyspepsia from 1726 to 1823 were extracted from the Edinburgh University index. Monographs and articles on dyspepsia from Britain during the same time period were sought in the Catalogues of the US Surgeon-General's Library.


RESULTS
During the eighteenth century, the annual number of dyspepsia patients admitted to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary showed an extraordinary increase from none in 1730 to 900 per million population in 1760. About 4000 MD theses were presented to the Edinburgh University between 1726 and 1823. There were none on dyspepsia or gastritis between 1726 and 1749, after when it gradually started to rise. British publications on dyspepsia similarly appeared only in the 1790s and then rapidly increased.


CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that the rise in MD theses and publications on dyspepsia were responses to a real increase in dyspepsia during the mid eighteenth century.
Baron
J H
JH
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA.
Sonnenberg
A
A
D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history*; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology