Peptic Ulcer in Childhood

Thirty children (20 girls and 10 boys, aged 6–16 years) with primary peptic ulcers, matched in pairs for age, sex and socio-economic standard to a group of 30 ulcer-free controls, were submitted to a structured psychiatric interview, a structured ‘present psychiatric state’ examination and to personality and intelligence tests. With one exception all patients suffered from duodenal ulcer; 3 male patients had personalities with psychopathic elements, 7 patients had nicknames, 5 suffered from psychiatric disorders, 3 had attempted suicide in the past, and 3 had had homosexual experiences. These parameters were negative in all controls. The patients had lower mean IQ, worse scholastic adaptation, more anxious and overprotective parents, higher frequency of faddiness in food and lower frequency of nail-biting than the controls. Psychotraumatic events had preceded the onset of ulcer symptomatology in 11 cases. The findings are discussed and the contribution of psychological factors in the pathogenesis of childhood peptic ulcer is stressed.