The authors made during a 16-month period in 226 patients the diagnosis of functional gastric dyspepsia (144 women and 82 men aged 20 to 50 years). The differentiating criterion was a pathological organic finding in the upper part of the digestive tract, a pathological finding on the liver, gallbladder and pancreas as well as a pathological laboratory finding. The probands were divided by age into two groups and compared with a control group with similar differentiating criteria; however, the latter had no dyspeptic complaints. The differences in the incidence of chronic gastritis were not significant. From the investigation the following conclusions ensue: 1. Chronic gastritis is not the prerequisite factor of dyspepsia. 2. With advancing age the incidence of chronic gastritis increases. In group of men with functional dyspepsia and without it at the age of 35 years a normal antral mucosa is found only in 1/4 and a normal mucosa of the corpus in 1/2, whereby the corresponding figures at the age of 50 are 1/10 and 1/3. In the group of women with functional dyspepsia and without it at the age of 35 years a normal mucosa of the antrum is found in 1/3 and in the corpus in 2/3, the corresponding figures at the age of 50 years are 1/5 and 1/2. Under the age of 50 the authors recorded a higher incidence of chronic gastritis in the male population (antrum 96.1%, corpus 66.7%), as compared with women (antrum 76.9%, corpus 54.8%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Keywords: Adult; Chronic Disease; Dyspepsia /complications/; Female; Gastritis /complications/; Humans; Male; Middle Aged