title: Major increase in admission- and incidence rates of acute colonic diverticulitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hospitalization for acute colonic diverticulitis has become more and more frequent. We studied the changes in the rate of admission and incidence of the disease during the last 25 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective analysis of all cases treated for acute diverticulitis during 1988-2012 at one hospital serving a defined population in Mid-Norway. The study made a distinction between admission rates and incidence rates. The admission rates defined the total number of cases admitted, while the incidence rates defined the number of new patients hospitalized for acute diverticulitis (first admission). Poisson regression was used to analyse factors associated with diverticulitis incidence rates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 851 admissions in 650 different patients were identified, with an overall admission rate of 38.5 (CI 35.9 to 41.1) per 100,000 person-years. The admission rate increased from 17.9 (CI 14.1 to 22.3)/100,000 during 1988-1992 to 51.1 (CI 44.8 to 58.0)/100,000 during 2008-2012. Poisson regression analysis showed a significant increase in admission rates with a factor of 2.8 (C.I. 2.2 to 3.5) during 25 years. The overall incidence rate (IRR) of new patients was 29.4 (CI 27.1 to 31.7)/100,000 person-years. IRR increased significantly with a factor of 2.6 (CI 1.96 to 3.34) during 25 years, while IRR for perforations increased even more, by a factor of 3.3 (CI 1.24 to 8.58).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The hospital admission rates as well as incidence rates for acute colonic diverticulitis increased significantly during the 25-year time span.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Levanger Hospital, North-Trondelag Hospital Trust, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, TalabaniArasM.Jamal@helse-nordtrondelag.no.
authors.forename: Aras
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jamal Talabani
authors.forename: Stian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lydersen
authors.forename: Birger H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Endreseth
authors.forename: Tom-Harald
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Edna
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D004239:Diverticulitis, Colonic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein