Study Ties Anxiety Disorder to Increased Risk of Ulcer

First Posted: Aug 18, 2014 04:15 AM EDT
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A study reveals evidence of a strong association between anxiety disorders and the prevalence and incidence of ulcer.

The prevalence of ulcer has dramatically lowered over and it is estimated that around 500,000 new cases of ulcer occur in the U.S. annually. A stomach ulcer (peptic ulcer) is a break in the tissue lining the stomach, the first part of the small intestine. This complication eventually leads to bleeding perforation and even death. A recent discovery showed that most of the ulcers were caused by bacterium helicobacter pyroli.

Corresponding author Farah Taha - M.A., of the Department of Psychology at the Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY) - said, "As a team, we specialize in depression and anxiety disorders. In keeping with a biopsychosocial framework, we believe that the etiology of ulcer is unlikely to be attributed to a single cause and is likely complex and multi-factorial. There are individuals with ulcers who don't have the bacterium, and there are people who have the bacterium who don't have ulcers."

In this study, the researchers evaluated the self-reported data from more than 2,000 adults, taken during two waves of the Midlife Development in the U.S. survey. Using this data, they looked for the link between anxiety and presence of ulcer.

They took into consideration certain factors that included child abuse, second-hand smoke exposure, neuroticism and demographic characteristics like age, marital status, gender, education and income. They also looked at cigarette-smoking, substance-use disorders as the potential facilitator in the link between anxiety and development of ulcer.

They found that none of the above variables affected these relationships in a substantive manner. They emphasize on the need to interpret the results with caution and plan to investigate the underlying mechanism present in anxiety-ulcer link.

The finding was documented in General Hospital Psychiatry.

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