VALIDITY OF A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DIAGNOSIS OF PEPTIC ULCER IN AN ETHNICALLY HETEROGENEOUS POPULATION

The validity of a questionnaire for the diagnosis of peptic ulcer has been tested in an ethnically heterogeneous population. The battery of questions used differentiated between persons who had peptic ulcers and those who had other upper gastrointestinal pathology or were free of pathology. In the total group the questions gave a sensitivity of 0.82 and a specificity of 0.56 when all the questions were used together. This did not vary with sex and age but there were marked, significant differences between the responses of persons of different ethnic groups. The importance of these differences in a study carried in an ethnically heterogeneous population is discussed. © 1969.