Ulcers

• Epidemiologic studies - a branch of medicine that deals with the study of the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations - have shown that H. pylori infection is more common in individuals with low income than in those with high income. It is more common in blacks and Hispanics than in non Hispanic whites, and it is more common among the elderly.
• Approximately 50% of North Americans over age 50 are infected with H. pylori, and about two thirds of Britons (a native or inhabitant of Great Britain) over age 70 are similarly infected. In some developing countries, H. pylori infects almost all adults.
• People of any age can get an ulcer and women are affected just as often as men.

• About four million adults have the disease at any one time, with about 500,000 new cases each year.
• Researchers are not certain how people contract H. pylori, but they think it may be through food or water.
• Researchers have found H. pylori in the saliva of some infected people, so the bacteria may also spread through mouth to mouth contact such as kissing.
• H. pylori can be transmitted from person to person through close contact and exposure to vomit. Always wash your hands after using the bathroom and before eating.
• H. pylori infection is common in the United States: About 20 percent of people under 40 years old and half of those over 60 years have it. Most infected people, however, do not develop ulcers. Why H. pylori does not cause ulcers in every infected person is not known. Most likely, infection depends on characteristics of the infected person, the type of H. pylori, and other factors yet to be discovered.

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References:
www.cdc.gov/ulcer/

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