title: Acute Appendicitis Is Associated with Peptic Ulcers: A Population-based Study.
abstract: Despite some studies having indicated a possible association between appendicitis and duodenal ulcers, this association was mainly based on regional samples or limited clinician experiences, and as such, did not permit unequivocal conclusions. In this case-control study, we examined the association of acute appendicitis with peptic ulcers using a population-based database. We included 3574 patients with acute appendicitis as cases and 3574 sex- and age-matched controls. A Chi-squared test showed that there was a significant difference in the prevalences of prior peptic ulcers between cases and controls (21.7% vs. 16.8%, p < 0.001). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of prior peptic ulcers for cases was 1.40 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24~1.54, p < 0.001) compared to controls. The results further revealed that younger groups demonstrated higher ORs for prior peptic ulcers among cases than controls. In particular, the adjusted OR for cases < 30 years old was as high as 1.65 (95% CI = 1.25~2.19; p < 0.001) compared to controls. However, we failed to observe an association of acute appendicitis with peptic ulcers in the ≥ 60-year age group (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.93~1.52). We concluded that there is an association between acute appendicitis and a previous diagnosis of peptic ulcers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Sleep Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Chieh
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Life Science, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Li-Ting
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.affiliation: Sleep Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Herng-Ching
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Sleep Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Surgery, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Banciao, Taipei, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shiu-Dong
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Cha-Ze
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult