The frequency of stress, as measured by the occurrence of 34 life events in the year preceding evaluation, was compared between 51 Saudis with peptic ulcers, diagnosed endoscopically, and 52 Saudis without peptic ulcer. All subjects were examined at King Fahd Hospital, Al-Khobar, Eastern Saudi Arabia, and were seen between March 1985 and July 1987. The mean number of events, their frequency distribution, and their categorization into areas of activity such as bereavement and other problems relating to health, marital, financial, and undesirable circumstances were similar for both groups. With regard to individual events, the only significant differences between ulcer patients and controls were that more patients had had serious arguments with in-laws or relatives and more controls had had minor personal illness or moderate financial problems. Excessive stress, as measured by life events, does not appear to be evident in Saudi peptic ulcer patients of the Eastern Province. Anxiety and/or depression was significantly more frequent in the group of patients with ulcers.