Urinary excretion of steroid hormone metabolites in men with duodenal ulcer

Duodenal ulcer is more common and usually more severe in men than in women. One hypothesis put forward to explain this sex difference is that men undergo more stress than women. Therefore, the urinary excretion of androsterone (A), aetiocholanolone (E) and 17-hydroxycorticoids has been determined in 25 normal men, and 22 hospital controls and 35 patients with duodenal ulcer (D.U.) before and after surgery. The excretion of steroids was the same in the normal controls arid the preoperative controls and D.U. patients. After surgery the controls showed a significant decrease in E excretion, and the D.U. patients had a decrease in excretion of E large enough to raise the A/E ratio. The results are not consistent with the view that endogenous androgenic or adrenocortical steroids maintain D.U.