[Protective effect of appendectomy on the development of ulcerative colitis. A case-control study].
OBJECTIVE
To examine by a case-control study the relationship between appendectomy and subsequent ulcerative colitis development in a French population.


METHODS
A total of 150 patients with ulcerative colitis were matched for age (+/- 5 years) and sex, with 150 controls recruited in a preventive medicine center. The following data were collected from medical records and by standardised questionnaire in consultation or by phone: appendectomy and tonsillectomy before the onset of ulcerative colitis, smoking habits and area of residence.


RESULTS
The rate of previous appendectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis was 8% (12/150) compared with 30.6% (46/150) in the control group (P=0.001). There was no significant association between ulcerative colitis and tonsillectomy (25.3 and 27.3% in the control and the ulcerative colitis groups, respectively). Smoking was more frequent in the control group (36%) than in the ulcerative colitis group (25.3%) but the difference was not significant (P=0.07). In multivariate analysis, the risk of developing ulcerative colitis was significantly lower after previous appendectomy (odds ratio=0.26; 95% confidence interval: 0.13-0.55; P=7 x 10(-4)).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study confirms the inverse association between appendectomy and subsequent ulcerative colitis, in a French population, after adjusting on smoking.
Uzan
A
A
Service d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie, CHU Robert-Debré, Reims.
Jolly
D
D
Berger
E
E
Diebold
M D
MD
Geoffroy
P
P
Renard
P
P
Vandromme
L
L
Bourgeois
L
L
Ramaholimihaso
F
F
Bouché
O
O
Zeitoun
P
P
Cadiot
G
G
Thiéfin
G
G
D000328:Adult; D001062:Appendectomy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D014068:Tonsillectomy