What are the factors that cause stomach spasms?

Although gastric spasm is a frequently reported condition in daily life, our understanding of it is limited to its symptoms. The underlying factors that cause it remain unknown to us. By understanding the triggering factors of gastric spasm, we can better grasp the treatment methods for this condition. So, what are the factors that induce gastric spasm? There are three major factors that cause gastric spasm:

1. Environmental Factors:

a. Among environmental factors, diet is the most common. It is generally accepted that irregular eating habits may increase the risk of gastric spasm, and cold or stomach-irritating foods often lead to recurrences of gastric spasm.
b. Individual habits are often related to the onset of gastric spasm. For example, long-term smokers have a significantly higher incidence of gastric spasm than non-smokers.
c. Occupations with high job stress are prone to gastric spasm, which is a general impression without conclusive evidence. However, from the patients seen in clinics, intellectuals have a relatively high proportion of gastric spasm.
d. Additionally, it is clear that aspirin can disrupt the self-regulation of gastric acid secretion and the gastric mucosa barrier, leading to gastric spasm.

2. Genetic Factors:

The onset of gastric spasm is closely related to genetic factors. From family studies, relatives of those with chronic peptic gastric spasm have a 2.5 to 3 times higher chance of developing gastric spasm than the general population. Moreover, the hereditability of gastric spasm and peptic ulcer disease are unrelated. Relatives and offspring of gastric spasm patients are prone to developing gastric spasm rather than peptic ulcer disease. Conversely, if one of a pair of monozygotic twins has gastric or peptic ulcer disease, the other is prone to developing the same condition, which is not the case for dizygotic twins. The identity of gastric spasm in monozygotic twins indicates that genetic factors play an important role in the onset of gastric spasm. Gastric spasm is associated with two genetic characteristics: ABO blood type and ABH secretion status. People with blood type "O" are 1.4 times more likely to develop gastric spasm than those with blood type "A," "B," or "AB." According to current understanding, there is a genetic relationship between the onset of peptic gastric spasm. Although genetic factors cannot fully explain all cases of gastric spasm, regardless of the cause, peptic gastric spasm seems to have a familial tendency.

3. Physical and Mental Factors:

The relationship between mental factors and upper gastrointestinal diseases is well-known. Long-term psychological stress or continuous high mental tension is recognized as a risk factor for peptic gastric spasm. However, the exact mechanism has not been confirmed, and it may be related to long-term psychological (mental) stress, which enhances the force causing gastric spasm or weakens mucosal resistance. Given that psychological stress is a common phenomenon in society, but only a few people develop gastric spasm, there must be other contributing factors besides physical and mental factors. The occurrence of gastric spasm can cause extreme discomfort in both life and work. At this time, we should also strive to control our emotions and not be too irritable or worried, as a bad mood can also affect the treatment effect of the condition. We wish you a speedy recovery.