Association of gastric and duodenal ulcers with anthropometry and nutrients: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES II-IV) 2001-2009.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the association of peptic ulcer disease (PUD), including gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, with obesity-related indices, nutrients, and blood parameters in Korean adults.
Methods: Data were obtained from the Second-Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES II-IV). Binary logistic regression was carried out to analyze the association between PUD and all variables in the crude analysis; in a subsequent analysis, adjustments were made for age, region, house type, number of snacks per day, and number of household members.
Results: PUD exhibited the highest association with age in both men and women among all variables used in this study. In men, only body mass index was associated with PUD in both the crude and adjusted analyses. PUD was associated with weight, height, and fat in the crude analysis, but these associations disappeared after adjustment for confounders. Vitamin B2, hemoglobin, and glucose were related to PUD, but these associations became nonsignificant in the adjusted analysis. Water, vitamin C, and potassium were not associated with PUD in the crude analysis but were associated with PUD after adjustment for confounders. In women, systolic blood pressure and height were associated with PUD. PUD was also related to waist circumference, the waist-to-height ratio, fat, and cholesterol, but these associations became nonsignificant after adjustment for confounders. Vitamin C, protein, niacin, sodium, energy, vitamin B2, vitamin B1, and aspartate aminotransferases were associated with PUD in only the crude analysis. PUD was not associated with diastolic blood pressure, water, vitamin A, or glucose, but these factors were associated with the disease in the adjusted analysis.
Conclusion: Older age was a risk factor for PUD in Korean adults, and the association of PUD with most nutrients and anthropometric indices may differ according to gender.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.