| [ Summary ] |
Trends in morbidity from digestive system diseases are reviewed in relation to changes in dietary habits, using the National Patient Survey Statistics of Japan. Outpatients with these diseases were the greatest in number, partly because the survey includes those with dental diseases, although trends for the statistics over recent decades have tended to decrease. On the other hand, trends related to organ specific death rate patterns showed a characteristic transition from gastric cancer to colonic and pancreatic types. These changes are apparently associated with those related to life style diseases such as, dietary risk factors, including imbalanced energy intake, increased fat intakes, decreased energy intake from grains, increased alcohol drinking and decreased vegetable intake. Preventive measures against these newly arising diseases of the digestive system, through a reduction in dietary risk factors, should be implemented. |