Background: Trends of peptic ulcer mortality rates were studied in São Paulo State (Brazil) among 1970 and 1989.
Material: Deaths from PU, ICD-9 531-534.
Results: The PU rates in São Paulo are comparable with those in Europe and rank second place for males and in third place for females. During this period there was a downward trend either for males or females.
Conclusions: For women, the decline was less impressive and the male/female ratio decreased. A cohort effect was suspected for the explanation of female mortality trends.