Peptic Ulcer Disease and Neuroticism in the United States Adult Population

Background: The goal of the current study was to determine the association between personality factors and peptic ulcer disease (PUD) among adults in the general population. Method: Data were drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States Survey (MIDUS), a representative household survey of the adult population (ages 25–74; n = 3,032) of the United States. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between the big five personality factors and PUD, adjusting for differences in sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric and physical comorbidity. Results: Neuroticism was associated with significantly increased odds of PUD [OR = 1.5 (95% CI: 1.03, 2.4)], which persisted after controlling for differences in sociodemographic characteristics, cigarette smoking, perception of poor health, comorbid mental disorders and physical illnesses. This relationship was specific to neuroticism. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with and extend previous clinical and epidemiologic data by providing evidence of an independent association between neuroticism and PUD among adults in the general population. Future work investigating the relationship between neuroticism and the development of PUD in prospective data, including objective measures of physical and mental health status, may contribute to our understanding of this association.