The histological patterns of the gastric mucosa obtained by endoscopic biopsy were evaluated in two different ethnic groups, each containing one hundred patients without gastro-intestinal diseases. The incidence of atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia increased with age in both groups, revealing a statistically significant difference above 60 years. The comparative study of gastric cancer death rates in the two population groups showed a significant prevalence in the Hungarians above 50 years. This fact seems to support the hypothesis that an ethnic group with high gastric cancer rate has a higher prevalence of atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia in the older age groups, and offers additional evidence for the association of chronic inflammatory changes of the gastric mucosa with malignant gastric tumors.