Abstract: Objective To investigate the etiology and related factors of upper gastrointestinal bleeding(UGIB) in the past 10 years. Methods The data of 2 056 patients receiving emergency treatment for UGIB in a single medical center between January 2005 and December 2014 were collected. Etiological analysis was done based on age, gender and time period. Results 1) UGIB occurred more often in men than in women with a ratio of 2.87:1.00. Gender composition was no significant difference between the first and later 5 years. 2) Proportion of young and middle-aged patients decreased, as compared with that of the elderly group(P < 0.01). 3) Etiological analysis of UGIB was different between the first and later 5 years. No matter the young and middle-aged or the elderly group, peptic ulcer ranked first, esophageal gastric varices fell(P < 0.004). Reflux esophagitis and acute gastric mucosal lesions in the elderly group rate rose(P < 0.004). 4) Duodenal ulcer was the main cause of UGIB in the young and middle-aged patients, whereas gastric ulcer and gastric carcinoma accounted for more at elderly people. 5) Percentage of patients taking nonsteroidal anti-inflamatory drugs(NSAIDs) and anticoagulation drugs was 2.67% in the young and middle-aged group and 24.55% in the elderly group(P < 0.01). 6) Within five years UGIB hospital mortality from 4.51% to 1.24%(P < 0.01), which cirrhosis, systemic disease mortality decreased significantly, acute gastric mucosal lesions significantly increased(P < 0.01). Conclusion In the past 10 years, primary etiological analysis of UGIB was peptic ulcer, but the proportion had been declining. Reflux esophagitis is another important etiology of UGIB. With the increasing number of the elderly patients, acute gastric mucosal lesions bleeding due to NSAIDs and anticoagulation drugs increased.

Key words: upper gastrointestinal bleeding, etiology, factor analysis