The Diagnosis and Therapy Survey October 1978-March 1983, health care consumption and current drug therapy in Sweden with respect to the clinical diagnosis of gastritis

Abstract

Demographic epidemiology, current drug therapy and the health care resources required by patients clinically considered to have gastritis were studied during a four and a half year period-October 1978 to March 1983. The investigation was based on data from the Diagnosis and Therapy Survey, an on-going nation-wide sample study covering all out-patient care in Sweden. Gastritis was found to account for 1.9% of all out-patient consultations and for 30% of those for gastrointestinal disorders. The corresponding figures for peptic ulcer disease were 0.2 % and 4%, respectively. The estimated minimum number of annual consultations for gastritis was 47 per 1,000 inhabitants. The majority of the consultations were dealt with in general practice, where gastritis was the fifth most common diagnosis. Drug therapy was considered to be indicated in 92% of the consultations. Antacids were prescribed in 77%, anticholinergic/spasmolytic drugs in 36% and bistamine H₂-receptor antagonists in 4%. The clinical diagnosis of gastritis was found to be the major indication for antacids and anticholinergic drugs and accounted for a substantial proportion of H₂-receptor antagonist prescriptions. The patient groups with gastritis and duodenal ulcer showed a similar age distribution, with a mean age of about 50 years. In the gastritis group, the two sexes were equally represented, but in the duodenal ulcer group there was a predominance of men.

The results of the Diagnosis and Therapy Survey indicate that the patient group with symptoms traditionally denoted as gastritis in clinical practice constitutes a major health care problem in our community. The extensive drug use is remarkable considering the lack of convincing data from controlled clinical trials supporting a therapeutic effect of any drug regimen in gastritis.

Key Words:

• Gastritis
• peptic ulcer
• health care
• drug therapy
• sample study
• demographic epidemiology