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The incidence of acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage was 67% greater than the highest previously reported incidence in the United Kingdom, which may be partially attributable to the greater social deprivation in the west of Scotland and may be related to the increased prevalence of Helicobacter pylori. Fatality after acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage was associated with age, comorbidity, hypotension, and raised blood urea concentrations on admission. Although deprivation was associated with increased incidence, it was not related to the risk of fatality.

People who condemn eugenics may be in minority nowEditor-In concluding his article on eugenics, Kevles should not have used the words "History at the least has taught us . . ." because they imply that most people condemn eugenics now. 1 Those who condemn eugenics may actually be a minority. In China, where the population exceeds 1.2 billion, geneticists overwhelmingly support eugenics. 2 India, Russia, and other populous countries share China's views on genetic issues. 2 The social values that guided early Western eugenicists and still underlie Chinese eugenics "give greater importance to the well-being of social groups than that of the individual." 3 By contrast, current Western values, concerned as they are with individual rights rather than with the common good, 3 represent the exact opposite of both Chinese values and the social ethics that evolution fostered for millions of years-social ethics that proved to be the best ethics for ensuring the survival of social groups. 4 Paraphrasing Kevles's words, I suggest that evolution should teach us that current Western values focusing on the good of the individual, not on the good of society, are both near sighted and intrinsically unethical, because they create more pain than they prevent. Those values, to spare a few individuals bearable sorrow, cause untold suffering to many people. In China the grief of those who are not allowed to procreate on eugenic grounds is unquestionably far less tragic than the perpetuated pain of their potential, numerous descendants.Although Chinese eugenics has patently nothing whatever to do with the murders committed by Nazis, many Westerners condemn it because Hitler supported eugenics. As Nobel prizewinner James D Watson pointed out, however, "We must not fall into the absurd trap of being against everything Hitler was for. It was in no way evil for Hitler to regard mental disease as a scourge on society. . . . Because of Hitler's use of the term Master Race, we should not feel the need to say that we never want to use genetics to make humans more capable than they are today." 5 Should Western countries espouse eugenics, they will hardly be condemned for it by future generations enjoying long and healthy lives. Conversely, if Westerners continue to disapprove of eugenics they will probably be hated by generations to come for not having avoided transmitting to them some conditions that can lead affected people to regret the day they were born.