dyspepsia - difficult digestion

Dyspepsia, a term used by Greeks and Romans to refer to a “bad digestion”, identifies a series of aches and pains in the abdominal area similar to indigestion.

There may be an occasional and isolated, but sometimes extended over time, persists, and occurs frequently, although not a serious health problem, it does alter our quality of life, our sense of wellbeing.

From a medical standpoint, the precise definition of its causes represents a major difficulty for a condition that, according to various epidemiological studies, affects about 20% of the population in Western countries, especially after 40 years and with a similar distribution between men and women.

Types of dyspepsia

At present, according to the criteria established in 1999 gastroenterology congress held in Rome, dyspepsia is defined as any pain or discomfort located in the upper central abdomen. It has established a classification of two types-organic and functionally according to their origin.

The organic cause is a clear, identified, which can produce symptoms: gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux, taking medications, irritable bowel, etc. But in no functional organic disease to account for symptoms and everything is normal except for the dyspeptic symptoms presented.

Functional dyspepsia is one of the most common problems in primary care consultations, which is the cause of between 3% and 5% of all visits. In order not to confuse it with an occasional dyspepsia, lasting only a few days, have established a set of diagnostic criteria:

Symptoms of a minimum of 12 weeks, which need not be consecutive, in the last 12 months.
The presence of dyspepsia, abdominal pain or discomfort in the middle and upper abdomen, persistent or recurrent.
Absence of organic disease that may explain the symptoms.

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