THE EFFECT OF THE GULF-WAR ON UPPER-GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING

Upper-gastrointestinal bleeding may be related to tension or fear, whi ch are commonly aggravating factors in digestive diseases. A survey wa s made of patients living in and around Hadera (located in Israel's ce ntral coastal region) during the Gulf War (January 18 through February 28, 1991) who suffered from upper-gastrointestinal bleeding; they wer e compared with patients seen during 1990 and 1992-1993 at the same ti me of the year. We found no appreciable difference in the rate of uppe r-gastrointestinal bleeding during the analogous periods covered in th e survey.