Can You Lower Your Ulcer Risk?

Medication you take for one illness can actually make you more likely to get another — an ulcer. But certain lifestyle choices can help balance the scales in your favor.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Risk factors for most illnesses are divided into two groups: those you can change and those you can’t. Ulcer risks stack up pretty much that way. One risk factor is advancing age, and there is not much any of us can do to slow the progression of time. Your ulcer risk also rises if close relatives have ulcers, and nothing can change your gene pool.
On the other hand, cutting down on drinking and quitting smoking are among the steps that will better enable to reduce your overall ulcer risk.