Prevalence of non-ulcer dyspepsia in the Japanese population

Background : Non‐ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) is one of the most frequently encountered disorders in general practice in Western countries. The prevalence of this disorder in the Japanese, however, has not been fully investigated. This study is designed to clarify the characteristics and prevalence of dyspepsia in the Japanese. Methods : The subjects were 1139 people who visited our institutes for their annual medical check up for gastric cancers. After routine medical examination, all subjects were asked standardized questions in order to check for the presence of any symptoms suggesting dyspepsia. Results : The results of the study showed that dysmotility‐like dyspepsia, characterized by the presence of nausea, fullness and early satiety, is the most frequently observed dyspepsia in Japanese and that this type of dyspepsia decreases with age. Ulcer‐like dyspepsia, which is the major type of dyspepsia in Western countries, is the least frequently experienced dyspepsia in the Japanese. Conclusions : This study clarified that NUD is also one of the most prevalent disorders in the Japanese, although its characteristics may be somewhat different from those in Western countries. © 1999 Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd