Assessment Of Public Perception On The Risk Factors Associated With Peptic Ulcer Disease Among Women

H. pylori is a microaerophilic organism and a gram negative bacterium which is found in the alimentary canal. It causes chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers. It is also linked to the development of duodenal ulcers and stomach cancer, conditions that were not previously believed to have a microbial cause. The persons infected with peptic ulcer usually have a 10 to 20% danger of developing peptic ulcers and a 1 to 2% likelihood of acquiring stomach cancer in lifetime. Nearly 15% of infected persons will develop peptic ulcer (duodenal or gastric) or gastric cancer as a long term end result of the infection. The outcome of infection depends primarily on the severity and topography of histological gastritis, which may possibly be determined by the age at which infection is acquired. Knowing the risk factors associated with the infection, it is necessary to put in place interventions and advice on suitable preventive measures.

The main objective of this research was to determine the occurrence of peptic ulcer among women in River state The study design was a cross-sectional hospital-based study and purposive sampling technique was used. Participants included all the patients with symptoms of ulcers and who were at the age of 6 months and above. 381 Stool samples were collected from inmates and their demographic information recorded after which, they were given questionnaires. The peptic ulcer stool antigen test was performed on the stool samples and the questionnaires analysed for risk factors. In conclusion, prevalence was found to be 46.2% (r = 12.28; p = 0.015). The peptic ulcer infection among various age group was found to be high at 32.4% in the age group between 41 to 50 years, and found to be low at 3.4% in the age group between 91 and older (r = 3.15; p = 0.031). Among the risk factors, female gender (p = 003) and water for drinking and other domestic usage were found to be statistically significant (r = 0.3; p = 0.007).

The findings of this study will give the authorities in health sector a good chance to put in place adequate preventive measures against H.pylori infection. Importantly, all confirmed cases of peptic ulcer infections should be treated to avoid the chances of transmission and steady supply of clean water to the prisons.