Table 1.
Characteristics and demography of Malaysian patients with dyspepsia in the study
| English speaking n = 86 | Malay speaking n = 57 | |
| Mean age (SD) | 56.2 (14) | 43.3 (14.9) |
| Gender (Male: Female) | 1:1.10 | 1:1.04 |
| Ethnicity: | ||
| Malay | 6 (7.0%) | 22 (38.6%) |
| Chinese | 40 (46.5%) | 3 (5.3%) |
| Indian | 38 (44.2%) | 27 (47.4%) |
| Native | 2 (2.3%) | 5 (8.8%) |
| Education level: | ||
| Primary | 9 (10.5%) | 6 (10.5%) |
| Secondary | 51 (59.3%) | 32 (56.1%) |
| Tertiary | 26 (30.2%) | 19 (33.3%) |
| Marital status: | ||
| Unmarried/separate/divorced | 17 (19.8%) | 13 (22.8%) |
| Married | 61 (70.9%) | 43 (75.4%) |
| Widowed | 8 (9.3%) | 1 (1.8%) |
| Employment status: | ||
| Employed | 31 (31.0%) | 28 (49.1%) |
| Unemployed/homemaker | 12 (13.9%) | 8 (0.14%) |
| Retired | 38 (44.2%) | 16 (28.1%) |
| Diagnosis: | ||
| Functional dyspepsia | 59 (68.6%) | 44 (77.2%) |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 5 (5.8%) | 7 (12.3%) |
| Gastroesophageal reflux disease | 22 (25.6%) | 6 (10.5%) |
| Length of dyspeptic symptoms (months) (median; interquartile range) |
6.5 (4 – 20) | 12 (3.3 – 24) |
| Period of medical consultation (months) (median; interquartile range) |
3 (5.5 – 18.3) | 3 (10.0 – 20.0) |
| Leeds Dyspepsia Questionnaire score (median; interquartile range) |
9 (15 – 20) | 13 (17 – 24) |