Does the microbiome play a role in the pathogenesis of colonic diverticular disease? A systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The role of the microbiota in diverticulosis and diverticular disease is underexplored. This systematic review aimed to assess all literature pertaining to the microbiota and metabolome associations in asymptomatic diverticulosis, symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD), and diverticulitis pathophysiology. METHODS: Seven databases were searched for relevant studies published up to September 28, 2022. Data were screened in Covidence and extracted to Excel. Critical appraisal was undertaken using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale for case/control studies. RESULTS: Of the 413 papers screened by title and abstract, 48 full-text papers were reviewed in detail with 12 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Overall, alpha and beta diversity were unchanged in diverticulosis; however, significant changes in alpha diversity were evident in diverticulitis. A similar Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes ratio compared with controls was reported across studies. The genus-level comparisons showed no relationship with diverticular disease. Butyrate-producing microbial species were decreased in abundance, suggesting a possible contribution to the pathogenesis of diverticular disease. Comamonas species was significantly increased in asymptomatic diverticulosis patients who later developed diverticulitis. Metabolome analysis reported significant differences in diverticulosis and SUDD, with upregulated uracil being the most consistent outcome in both. No significant differences were reported in the mycobiome. CONCLUSION: Overall, there is no convincing evidence of microbial dysbiosis in colonic diverticula to suggest that the microbiota contributes to the pathogenesis of asymptomatic diverticulosis, SUDD, or diverticular disease. Future research investigating microbiota involvement in colonic diverticula should consider an investigation of mucosa-associated microbial changes within the colonic diverticulum itself.

Dietary pattern and its association with right-colonic diverticulosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: In East Asia, colonic diverticulosis develops most commonly in the right colon and is known to have different characteristics compared with left-sided one. This study was designed to investigate whether right-colonic diverticulosis is associated with posteriori dietary patterns. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of prospectively collected cohort that received health check-up in Korea between May 2011 and January 2012. Their anthropometric data, biochemical results, medication history, underlying diseases, colonoscopic findings, and dietary data obtained from semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire were analyzed. Three dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis: healthy dietary pattern (vegetables, fish, seaweed, fruits, and beans), meat dietary pattern (red meat, processed meat/fish, fried noodle, poultry, and cephalopods), and snack dietary pattern (bread, sweets, dairy products, nuts, and rice cake). RESULTS: Out of the total 1911 patients, 203 (10.6%) had right-colonic diverticulosis, 21 (1.1%) had pan-colonic diverticulosis, and 12 (0.6%) had left-colonic diverticulosis. Among the total, none of the three patterns were associated with right-colonic diverticulosis, under adjustment with age, gender, body mass index, metabolic syndrome, and total energy intake. However, among women, meat dietary pattern was positively associated with right-colonic diverticulosis (odds ratio 1.866, 95% confidence interval: 1.0983-3.173, P = 0.021). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that meat dietary pattern is positively associated with right-colonic diverticulosis among women.

Computational analysis of mechanical stress in colonic diverticulosis.

Diverticulosis results from the development of pouch-like structures, called diverticula, over the colon. The etiology of the disease is poorly understood resulting in a lack of effective treatment approaches. It is well known that mechanical stress plays a major role in tissue remodeling, yet its role in diverticulosis has not been studied. Here, we used computational mechanics to investigate changes in stress distribution engendered over the colon tissue by the presence of a pouch-like structure. The objectives of the study were twofold: (1) observe how stress distribution changes around a single pouch and (2) evaluate how stress elevation correlates with the size of the pouch. Results showed that high stresses are concentrated around the neck of a pouch, and their values and propagation increase with the size of the pouch neck rather than the pouch surface area. These findings suggest that stress distribution may change in diverticulosis and a vicious cycle may occur where pouch size increases due to stress elevation, which in turn elevates stress further and so on. Significant luminal pressure reduction would be necessary to maintain stress at normal level according to our results and therapeutic approaches aimed directly at reducing stress should rather be sought after.

Diet in colonic diverticulosis: is it useful?

Diverticulosis of the colon is the most common anatomic alteration of the human colon. Diet may be important in the management of diverticular disease (DD). It is known that high­fiber diet does not prevent diverticulosis, and there are conflicting data on the prevention and treatment of DD and acute diverticulitis. No association has been reported between nut, corn, or popcorn consumption and the development of diverticulosis, DD, and acute diverticulitis. However, there seems to be a mild association between high alcohol intake and diverticulosis, whereas alcohol dependence seems to be related to a lower risk of in­hospital mortality due to acute diverticulitis. Higher consumption of red meat was associated with a mild increase in the risk of acute diverticulitis, especially when consumed as unprocessed red meat (defined as consumption of "beef or lamb as main dish," "pork as main dish," "hamburger," and "beef, pork or lamb as a sandwich or mixed dish"). On the other hand, higher consumption of poultry (white meat) was not associated with the risk of acute diverticulitis. Finally, higher fish intake was associated with a reduced risk of diverticulitis in an age­adjusted model but not after adjustment for other potential confounders.

Possible increased risk of colonic diverticular disease from alcohol intoxication or abuse.

Alcohol consumption has been suggested as a potential risk factor for diverticular diseases. This study investigated the association between alcohol intoxication or abuse and colonic diverticular disease (CDD).Using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2008, 51, 866 subjects newly diagnosed with alcohol intoxication were enrolled in this study as the alcohol intoxication cohort. The control (nonalcohol intoxication) cohort was frequency-matched 1:4 by age, sex and index year. Data were analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards model.The overall incidence of CDD (per 10,000 person-years) for the alcohol intoxication and control cohorts was 16.4 and 3.46, respectively. Compared with patients in the control cohort (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.76-3.74), those with alcohol intoxication exhibited a 3.21-fold risk of CDD; the risk was particularly higher in male patients (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 3.19, 95% CI = 2.72-3.74) and in those aged <45 years (aHR = 4.95, 95% CI = 3.91-6.27). The alcohol intoxication still had higher risk of CDD than nonalcohol intoxication, regardless of subjects without comorbidity (aHR = 3.38, 95% CI = 2.77-4.11) or with (aHR = 2.85, 95% CI = 2.25-3.61).There was a significant relationship between alcohol intoxication or abuse and CDD.

Association of Obesity With Colonic Diverticulosis in Women.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Obesity has been associated with an increased risk of colonic diverticulosis. Evidence for this association is limited. We assessed whether anthropometric measures of obesity were associated with colonic diverticulosis. METHODS: We analyzed data from a prospective study of 623 patients undergoing screening colonoscopies from 2013 through 2015; colonoscopies included examinations for diverticulosis. Body measurements were made the day of the procedure. Multivariate analyses were performed using modified Poisson regression to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% CIs while adjusting for confounding variables. All analyses were stratified by sex. RESULTS: Among men, there was no association between any measure of obesity and diverticulosis. After adjustment, women with an obese body mass index (BMI ≥ 30) had an increased risk of any diverticulosis (PR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.08-2.04) compared with women with a normal body mass index (BMI 18.5-24.9). The strength of this association was greater for more than 5 diverticula (PR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.23-3.40). There was no significant association between measures of central obesity and diverticulosis in women. Stratified by sex, colonic diverticulosis was significantly less prevalent in women compared with men before the age of 51 years (29% vs 45%, P = .06). The prevalence of diverticulosis did not differ by sex in older age groups. CONCLUSIONS: In an analysis of data from 623 patients undergoing screening colonoscopies, we found that obesity (BMI ≥30) significantly increased the risk of colonic diverticulosis in women but not men. Colonic diverticulosis was less prevalent in premenopausal-age women compared with similar-age men. These findings suggest that sex hormones may influence the development of diverticulosis.

Critical Issues on Diverticular Disease.

In this session diverse critical issues in diverticular disease were considered, including "In or outpatient management of uncomplicated diverticulitis?", "Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis: what is it?"and "Diverticular inflammation is a risk factor for colorectal cancer?". The conclusions drawn are outlined in the statements but in summary, outpatient management is safe in selected patients, as long as correct diagnosis and stage are assured, and this can allow a cost effective treatment. Non-antibiotic management is also safe but should be confined as an outpatient treatment in carefully selected patients.  Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD) is a defined pathological entity (only diagnosed on biopsy) characterized by an inflammatory bowel disease-like pathology, occurring principally in the sigmoid colon, with rectal and right colon sparing.  The pathogenesis is unclear but may include a genetic predisposition, microbiome alteration and ischaemia. Treatment can last months, and depends on severity, options include antibiotics, 5 ASA and probiotics for mild cases. Severe disease needs systemic steroids or even anti TNFα treatment.  Whether diverticular inflammation is a risk factor for colorectal cancer was debated and the conclusion that within the first eighteen months of diagnosis of diverticular disease associations with cancer are found, likely due to similar symptoms and misclassification of disease. After that time, diverticular disease does not increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Therefore, this is recommended to exclude cancer with imaging and colonoscopy after healing of the first episode of diverticulitis.

Animal Models of Diverticulosis: Review and Recommendations.

Diverticulosis is a structural alteration of the colon tissue characterized by the development of pouch-like structures called diverticula. It afflicts a significant portion of the population in Western countries, with a higher prevalence among the elderly. Diverticulosis is believed to be the result of a synergetic interaction between inherent tissue weakness, diet, colonic microstructure, motility, and genetic factors. A validated etiology has, however, not yet been established. Non-surgical treatment is currently lacking due to this poor understanding, and surgical colon resection is the only long-term solution following recurrent complications. With rising prevalence, the burden of diverticulosis on patients and hospital resources has increased over the past several years. More efficient and less invasive treatment approaches are, thus, urgently needed. Animal models of diverticulosis are crucial to enable a preclinical assessment and evaluation of such novel approaches. This review discusses the animal models of diverticulosis that have been proposed to date. The current models require either a significant amount of time to develop diverticulosis, present a relatively low success rate, or seriously deteriorate the animals' systemic health. Recommendations are thus provided to address these pitfalls through the selection of a suitable animal and the combination of multiple risk factors for diverticulosis.

Obesity and the Risk of Colonic Diverticulosis: A Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The possible relationship between obesity and the risk of colonic diverticulosis has been suggested by recent epidemiologic studies, although the results were inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to summarize all of the available data. DATA SOURCES: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through January 2017. STUDY SELECTION: Studies that compared the risk of colonic diverticulosis among subjects with obesity versus those without obesity were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Effect estimates from each study were extracted and combined together using a random-effect, generic inverse variance method. RESULTS: Of 2989 potentially eligible articles, 10 studies (9 cross-sectional studies and 1 prospective cohort study) with 53,520 participants met the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The risk of colonic diverticulosis in obese subjects was significantly higher than in those without obesity, with a pooled OR of 1.41 (95% CI, 1.20-1.65). The statistical heterogeneity was high, with an I of 75%. LIMITATIONS: High statistical heterogeneity and publication bias in favor of positive studies may have been present in this meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: A significant association between colonic diverticulosis and obesity was shown in this study. However, additional studies are still required to determine the causality. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A500.

Sex differences in risk factors of uncomplicated colonic diverticulosis in a metropolitan area from Northern China.

As the world's most populated and rapidly aging country, there is limited information on sex-related differences in factors regarding uncomplicated colonic diverticulosis in China. We aimed to investigate sex differences in individual risk factor in a northern metropolis. Patients with colonic diverticulosis who underwent indicated colonoscopy were queried with respect to medical history and demographic features. Demographic information, life style factors and co-morbidities were retrieved from a prospective dataset. Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine precipitating factors of diverticula. Of 4,386 enrolled patients, colonic diverticulosis were detected in 218 cases (4.97%). Multiple logistic regression analysis implicated increasing age (OR = 1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.06, P < 0.001), red meat ≥100 g/d (OR = 2.53, 95%CI 1.72-3.70, P < 0.001), smoking (OR = 2.14, 95%CI 1.05-4.33, P = 0.035), rheumatologic diseases (OR = 3.38, 95%CI 1.09-10.5, P = 0.035) and NSAIDs (OR = 2.11, 95%CI 1.12-3.97, P = 0.020) were significantly associated with diverticulosis in men, whilst advancing age (OR = 1.03, 95%CI 1.01-1.05, P = 0.013), BMI (OR = 1.12, 95%CI 1.04-1.19, P = 0.001), smoking (OR = 10.2, 95%CI 2.81-37.4, P < 0.001), rheumatologic diseases (OR = 8.04, 95%CI 3.05-21.2, P < 0.001), hypertension (OR = 1.76, 95%CI 1.01-3.06, P = 0.047), colonic polyps (OR = 3.12, 95%CI 1.82-5.36, P < 0.001) and antihypertensive medications (OR = 2.99, 95%CI 1.66-5.39, P < 0.001) in women. In conclusion, it is pivotal to take account of differentially sex-related factors in regard to the development of uncomplicated colonic diverticulosis.

Smoking and risk of colonic diverticulosis: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The possible relationship between smoking and risk of colonic diverticulosis has been suggested by recent epidemiological studies, although the results were inconsistent. This meta-analysis was conducted to summarize all available data. METHODS: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through May 2017 to identify all studies that compared the risk of colonic diverticulosis among current and former smokers versus nonsmokers. Effect estimates from each study were extracted and combined together using the random-effect, generic inverse variance method of DerSimonian and Laird. RESULTS: Of 465 potentially eligible articles, three prospective cohort studies with 130,520 participants met the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The risk of colonic diverticulosis in current smokers was significantly higher than nonsmokers with the pooled risks ratio of 1.46 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-1.89). However, the risk of colonic diverticulosis in former smokers was not significantly higher than nonsmokers with the pooled risk ratio of 1.13 (95% CI, 0.88-1.44). CONCLUSIONS: A significantly increased risk of colonic diverticulosis among current smokers is demonstrated in this study.

The Natural History of Incidental Colonic Diverticulosis on Screening Colonoscopy.

Background: The natural history of colonic diverticulosis is unclear. Methods: Patients with incidental diverticulosis identified in a previous prospective cross-sectional screening colonoscopy study were evaluated retrospectively for clinic or hospital visit(s) for diverticular disease (DD= acute diverticulitis or diverticular bleeding) using review of electronic health records and patient phone interview. Results: 826 patients were included in the screening colonoscopy study. Three were excluded for prior DD. In all, 224 patients (27.2%; mean age 62.3 ± 8.2) had incidental diverticulosis distributed in the left colon (67.4%), right colon (5.8%), or both (22.8%). Up-to-date information was available on 194 patients. Of those, 144 (74.2%) could be reached for detailed interview and constituted the study population. Over a mean follow-up of 7.0 ± 1.7 years, DD developed in 6 out of 144 patients (4.2%) (4 acute cases of diverticulitis, 1 probable case of diverticular bleeding, and 1 acute case of diverticulitis and diverticular bleeding). Two patients were hospitalized, and none required surgery. The time to event was 5.1 ± 1.6 years and the incidence rate was 5.9 per 1000 patient-years. On multivariate analysis, none of the variables collected at baseline colonoscopy including age, gender, obesity, exercise, fiber intake, alcohol use, constipation, or use of NSAIDs were associated with DD. Conclusion: The natural history of incidental diverticulosis on screening colonoscopy was highly favorable in this well-defined prospectively identified cohort. The common scenario of incidental diverticulosis at screening colonoscopy makes this information clinically relevant and valuable to physicians and patients alike.

Foreign bodies in sigmoid colon diverticulosis.

This review addresses the management of sigmoid colon diverticular disease associated with foreign bodies. In addition, two novel cases are presented. One case describes the management of diverticular bleeding secondary to a chicken bone and the other case reports retrieval of a retained EndoRings™ Device. The review identified 40 relevant publications including 50 subjects. Foreign bodies within sigmoid diverticular disease may be associated with inflammation, perforation, abscess and fistula. In current practice, diagnosis is often achieved with CT scan. Patients with colonic perforation or fistula generally require colonic resection. Patients with inflammation may merit conservative management, including colonoscopic foreign body retrieval. Chicken bones, tooth picks, and biliary stents have been reported in patients with inflammation, perforation and fistula, whereas all published patients with fish bone related diverticulosis complications experienced inflammation. Treatment might be best guided by the consequences of the foreign body rather than the nature of the underlying retained object. Diverticular bleeding secondary to a chicken bone was diagnosed at CT angiography and treated with colonoscopic snare retrieval of the bone and clipping of the bleeding diverticulum. The EndoRings™ Device was retrieved with a colonoscopic balloon.

Dietary pattern and colonic diverticulosis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To assess the role of dietary pattern on the occurrence of colonic diverticulosis, diverticular disease and acute diverticulitis. RECENT FINDINGS: High-fiber diet does not prevent diverticulosis occurrence, and results about prevention/treatment of diverticular disease and acute diverticulitis are still conflicting.No association was seen between nut, corn or popcorn consumption and occurrence of diverticulosis, diverticular disease and acute diverticulitis.It seems to be a mild association between high alcohol intake and diverticulosis occurrence, whereas alcohol dependence seems to show lower risk of in-hospital mortality due to acute diverticulitis.Higher red-meat consumption shows mild increased risk of acute diverticulitis, especially when consumed as unprocessed red meat (defined as consumption of 'beef or lamb as main dish', 'pork as main dish', 'hamburger' and 'beef, pork or lamb as a sandwich or mixed dish'); higher consumption of poultry (viz. white meat) was not associated with risk of acute diverticulitis.Finally, higher fish intake was associated with reduced risk of diverticulitis in age-adjusted model, but not after further adjustment for other potential confounders. SUMMARY: Current literature data about the role of dietary pattern on the occurrence of colonic diverticulosis, diverticular disease and acute diverticulitis are still too conflicting.

Pathogenesis of diverticulosis and diverticular disease.

Diverticulosis is defined by the presence of diverticula due to herniation of mucosa and muscularis mucosa through the muscularis propria at sites of vascular penetration in the colon and is asymptomatic in the vast majority affected. There are global differences of distribution, in Western industrialized societies, the most common site is in the left colon, but in Asia right sided diverticulosis predominates. Whilst present in 17.5% of a general population and 42% of all comers at endoscopy it is seen in 71% of those aged ≥80 years. Diverticular disease is defined as clinically significant and symptomatic diverticulosis, which may have an absence of macroscopically overt colitis and in true diverticulitis there is macroscopic inflammation of diverticula with related acute or chronic complications. Whilst overall, diverticulitis affects only 4% of those with diverticulosis, in younger patients (aged 40-49 years) this peaks at 11%. Diverticulosis is one of the most common chronic diseases, yet research in this field on pathogenesis has lagged behind other common conditions such as diabetes mellitus. However, in the last decade there have been major advances in taxonomy that can be used to relate to patients' outcome and treatment in both medicine and surgery. It has been shown there is an association with age, diet, drugs and smoking. Genetic studies have shown a familial association and a specific gene, TNFSF 15 may predict severity of disease. The role of the microbiome has been explored and microbial and metabolomic signatures are also important in predicting disease severity. That diverticulosis is a chronic disease is shown by mucosal pathology with subtle chronic inflammation present in those with asymptomatic diverticulosis and inflammation may lead to muscular hypertrophy, enteric nerve remodeling with disordered motility. The diverticulitis quality of life instrument shows that this condition impacts markedly on patients' well-being and prevention and amelioration of complications should be the aim of treatment and further research to attain this goal is needed.

Prevalence of Colonic Diverticulosis in Patients Affected by Ulcerative Colitis: A Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Diverticulosis of the colon is an acquired condition that results from herniation of the mucosa and submucosa through defects in the muscular layer. The true prevalence of colonic diverticulosis is difficult to measure because most individuals are asymptomatic. In particularly, in literature, there are few studies about the prevalence of colonic diverticulosis in patients affected by ulcerative colitis (UC). GOALS: To investigate the prevalence of colonic diverticulosis in UC and in adult patients referred in a single center. STUDY: Consecutive patients, referred to our institution to undergo a colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening and/or for UC assessment, between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014, were studied. RESULTS: Six hundred five consecutive patients were studied: 438 (72.4%) due to colorectal cancer screening (group A) and 167 (27.6%) for UC assessment (group B). Prevalence of colonic diverticulosis was higher in group A than group B (27.8% vs. 10.8%, P<0.0001). Female gender in patients with colonic diverticulosis was higher in group A than group B (55.7% vs. 22.2%, P=0.0106). Sigma and left colon was mainly involved in group A than group B (97.6% vs. 66.7%, P=0.0001), whereas in group B the right colon was mainly involved in group B versus group A (22.2% vs. 0.8%, P=0.0009). CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of colonic diverticulosis was significantly lower in patients with UC than in control group. UC may, therefore, be a protective factor for colonic diverticulosis occurrence.

Do Appendicitis and Diverticulitis Share a Common Pathological Link?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between appendicitis and diverticulitis. DESIGN: This study is a retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: This study was conducted in a subspecialty practice at a tertiary care facility. PATIENTS: We examined the rate of appendectomy among 4 cohorts of patients: 1) patients with incidentally identified diverticulosis on screening colonoscopy, 2) inpatients with medically treated diverticulitis, 3) patients who underwent left-sided colectomy for diverticulitis, and 4) patients who underwent colectomy for left-sided colorectal cancer. INTERVENTIONS: There were no interventions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measured was the appendectomy rate. RESULTS: We studied a total of 928 patients in this study. There were no differences in the patient characteristics of smoking status, nonsteroidal use, or history of irritable bowel syndrome across the 4 study groups. Patients with surgically treated diverticulitis had significantly more episodes of diverticulitis (2.8 ± 1.9) than the medically treated group (1.4 ± 0.8) (p < 0.0001). The rate of appendectomy was 8.2% for the diverticulosis control group, 13.5% in the cancer group, 23.5% in the medically treated diverticulitis group, and 24.5% in the surgically treated diverticulitis group (p < 0.0001). After adjusting for demographics and other clinical risk factors, patients with diverticulitis had 2.8 times higher odds of previous appendectomy (p < 0.001) than the control groups. LIMITATIONS: The retrospective study design is associated with selection, documentation, and recall bias. CONCLUSIONS: Our data reveal significantly higher appendectomy rates in patients with a diagnosis of diverticulitis, medically or surgically managed, in comparison with patients with incidentally identified diverticulosis. Therefore, we propose that appendicitis and diverticulitis share similar risk factors and potentially a common pathological link.

Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis.

Diverticular disease is a common condition that is associated with variable presentations. For this review article, we performed a review of articles in PubMed through February 1, 2016, by using the following MeSH terms: colon diverticula, colonic diverticulitis, colonic diverticulosis, colonic diverticulum, colonic diverticula, and diverticula. Diverticula are structural alterations within the colonic wall that classically form "pockets" referred to as diverticula. Diverticula form from herniation of the colonic mucosa and submucosa through defects in the circular muscle layers within the colonic wall. Often this is at the sites of penetrating blood vessels in the colon. Diverticular disease is extremely common, which resulted in 2,682,168 outpatient visits and 283,355 hospitalization discharges for diverticulitis or diverticulosis in 2009. Diverticulosis is one of the most common detected conditions found incidentally on colonoscopy. Risk factors for the development of diverticulitis include obesity, smoking, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and opiates. In contrast, fiber may be protective, but recent studies have questioned the role of fiber in developing diverticular disease. Most patients with diverticulosis will be asymptomatic, but a subset of patients may develop nonspecific abdominal pain (isolated or recurrent), diverticulitis, or segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis. Classically, the treatment of diverticulitis has included antibiotics for all patients. More recent evidence indicates that in mild to even moderate uncomplicated diverticulitis, antibiotics may not be as necessary as initially believed. In more complicated diverticulitis, intravenous antibiotics and surgery may be necessary. Once a patient has had an attack of diverticulitis, increasing fiber may help prevent future attacks. Other modalities such as 5-aminosalicylate products, antibiotics, and probiotics are still of unclear benefit in preventing future episodes of diverticulitis. Similarly, even when patients develop recurrent episodes of diverticulitis, surgery may not be necessary as a prophylactic treatment.

Risk factors associated with colonic diverticulosis among patients from a defined geographic area.

BACKGROUND: Only a few data regarding colonic diverticulosis are available in Italy. We examined the frequency of colonic diverticulosis and its associations with risk factors in a homogeneous Northern Sardinian population undergoing colonoscopy for any reason in the last decades. METHODS: This was a retrospective single-center study. Medical records of patients undergoing colonoscopy for any indication between 1995 and 2013 were reviewed. Demographic information including age, gender, geographic area (urban, rural), marital status, smoking habit, occupation, body mass index, and comorbidities were collected. Presence, number, and extension of diverticula were assessed by colonoscopy. The diagnosis of diverticulosis was defined by the presence of more than five diverticula. RESULTS: A total of 4458 records were collected (39.8 % males). Analysis by birth cohorts showed a significant progressive age-related increase in the prevalence of diverticulosis. The average prevalence was 18.9 % without significant variation across the 19-year observation period. In 101 (12.1 %) subjects diverticula were single or few. Seventy-one percent of diverticula were located predominantly in the left side, 2 % in the right side, and 14.3 % were spread throughout the colon. There was a significant association with obesity but not with smoking habits, marital status, or urban versus rural environment. A strong association was observed between the presence of diverticulosis and cardiovascular and other gastrointestinal and lung disease (p < 0.0001). These associations were also confirmed by the logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In this endoscopic study, colonic diverticulosis in Northern Sardinia showed prevalence similar to other series in Western countries, and it was predominantly left sided and age related.