Impulsivity as a predictor of newly-diagnosed peptic ulcer disease: A prospective cohort study

We examined the role of impulsivity in the development of peptic ulcer disease (PUD). The subjects were initially healthy 4636 hospital employees aged 19–62 who responded to a questionnaire on personality, health habits, mental health, and PUD in 1998 and 2000. We used multivariate logistic analyses to determine the relationship between impulsivity and newly-diagnosed PUD among those employees who did not have PUD at baseline. Impulsivity was assessed with the Karolinska Scale of Personality. High level of impulsivity was associated with increased 2-year incidence of doctor-diagnosed PUD after adjustment of age, gender, education and shift work (odds ratio = 2.42, 95% confidence interval = 1.21–4.82). Additional adjustment for the effects of smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI, physical activity, minor psychiatric morbidity and diagnosed depression and other psychiatric disease had little effect on this relationship. The present study suggests that impulsivity may be a risk factor for the development of PUD.