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



To investigate the prevalence of colonic diverticulosis in UC and in adult patients referred in a single center.



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.



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).



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.
*Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, "Sapienza" University †Division of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, "Cristo Re" Hospital, GIOMI Group ‡Division of Gastroenterology, ASL Roma H, Albano Laziale §Division of Surgery, "P. Colombo" Hospital, Velletri, Rome ∥Gastroenterology Service, ASL BAT, Andria, BT, Italy.
Claudio
C
Cassieri
Roberta
R
Pica
Eleonora V
EV
Avallone
Maddalena
M
Zippi
Pietro
P
Crispino
Daniela
D
De Nitto
Paolo
P
Paoluzi
Giovanni
G
Brandimarte
Piera Giuseppina
PG
Lecca
Walter
W
Elisei
Marcello
M
Picchio
Antonio
A
Tursi
D000368:Aged; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000150:complications*; D003106:Colon / Q000473:pathology; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000379:methods; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D043963:Diverticulosis, Colonic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies