OBJECTIVE We examined the characteristics of upper gastrointestinal (GI) disorders induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). METHODS The questionnaire investigation was performed over a five-year period. RESULTS A study was performed on 354 patients (161 men and 193 women with mean ages of 66.0 and 70.7 years, respectively) who developed NSAID associated upper GI disorders: 21 patients had acute gastric mucosal lesion (AGML), 212 had gastric ulcer, 63 had duodenal ulcer, 17 had gastroduodenal ulcers and 41 other cases. About 75% of patients received NSAIDs for orthopedic conditions. Sixty percent of gastric disorders induced by NSAIDs affected the antrum or angulus of the stomach. The incidence of disorders of the gastric antrum was significantly higher in women than in men whilst the incidence of disorders on the gastric angulus was significantly higher in men than in women (p<0.05). The proportion of patients with GI symptoms was significantly lower in patients over 65 years old than in those under 65 years old (p<0.05). The time taken to achieve the healing stage was significantly longer in patients with greater than 3 months NSAID ingestion compared to patients that had received NSAIDs for less than 3 months (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS We should examine the association between upper GI disorders induced by NSAIDs and H. pylori as well as the rate of GI disorders induced by new Cox-2 inhibitors.