A Prospective Comparative Study of Clinical and Pathological Characteristics in Icelandic and Danish Patients with Gastric Ulcer, Duodenal Ulcer, and X-Ray Negative Dyspepsia

The occurrence of gastritis in antral and body mucosa is compared in an Icelandic and a Danish group of patients with gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, and X-ray negative dyspepsia. In all 93 Icelandic and 88 Danish patients were examined. All signs of antral gastritis were more frequent in Icelandic than in Danish patients, but only the incidence of superficial inflammation and decreased mucus content in surface and crypt epithelium differed significantly. In body mucosa pseudopyloric metaplasia was more frequent in Iceland and occurred equally frequently in all three diseases. A statistically significant correlation was found between macroscopic gastritis and occurrence of antral superficial inflammation and between smoking and superficial inflammation and decreased mucus content in the pyloric biopsy specimen. The presence of histological gastritis was not correlated to the intake of alcohol and salicylic acid, nor to the presence of pain at the time of investigation.