ABSTRACT
Should the primary care provider be actively involved to change this course? Obviously, “yes.” Can foods or natural substances help? The answer is “yes,” but not necessarily what one may think and
Peptic ulcer disease is common worldwide. The overall lifetime prevalence is about 12% for men and 9% for women. The lifetime risk of peptic ulcer disease is about 10%. At any given time, about 2% of the general population of the United States has symptomatic peptic ulcer disease, which translates into about 4 million people who have active peptic ulcers; about 350,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Four times as many duodenal ulcers as gastric ulcers are diagnosed. Approximately 3000 deaths per year in the United States are due to duodenal ulcer and 3000 to gastric ulcer. There has been a marked decrease in reported hospitalization and mortality rates for peptic ulcer in the United States, but changes in criteria for selecting the underlying cause of death might account for some of the apparent decrease in ulcer mortality rates. Hospitalization rates for duodenal ulcers decreased nearly 50% from 1970 to 1978, but hospitalization rates for gastric
few decades. The hospitalization rate is approximately 30 patients per 100,000 cases. Although
the choice may prove difficult. This chapter will help you select the appropriate strategy best suited for your specific patient.
