Adult overweight is associated with increased risk of diverticular disease (DD). We investigated associations between birthweight and childhood body mass index (BMI) and DD.
Cohort study of 346,586 ...persons born during 1930-1996 with records in the Copenhagen School Health Records Register. Data included birthweight, and height and weight from ages 7 through 13. We used Cox proportional hazard regression to examine associations between birthweight and BMI z-scores and DD registered in the Danish National Patient Registry. Due to non-proportionality, we followed participants from age 18-49 and from age 50.
During follow-up, 5459 (3.2%) women and 4429 (2.5%) men had DD. For low and high BMI in childhood, we observed a higher risk of DD before age 50. Among women with z-scores <0 at age 13, the hazard ratio (HR) was 1.16 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.98-1.39 per one-point lower z-score. For z-scores ≥0 at age 13, the HR was 1.30 (95% CI: 1.11-1.51) per one-point higher z-score. Among men with z-scores <0 at age 13, the HR was 1.02 (95% CI: 0.85-1.22). For z-scores ≥0 at age 13, the HR was 1.54 (95% CI: 1.34-1.78). Z-scores ≥0 were not associated with DD after age 50. Among women only, birthweight was inversely associated with DD before age 50 HR = 0.90 (95% CI: 0.83-0.99) per 500 g higher birthweight.
BMI z-scores below and above zero in childhood were associated with higher risk of DD before age 50. In addition, we observed lower risk of DD among women, the higher their birthweight.
The incidence of diverticulitis has been associated with geographic and seasonal variation. Low levels of circulating vitamin D are associated with diverticulitis. We investigated the association ...between UV light and diverticulitis.
We identified nonelective diverticulitis admissions in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and linked hospital locations to UV data. We examined UV exposure in relation to risk of admission for diverticulitis. We identified geographic and seasonal trends among 226 522 nonelective admissions for diverticulitis. Compared with high-UV areas, low-UV areas had a higher rate of diverticulitis (751.8 vs 668.1 per 100 000 admissions; P < .001), diverticular abscess (12.0% vs 9.7%; P < .001), and colectomy (13.5% vs 11.5%; P < .001). We also observed significant seasonal variation, with a lower rate of diverticulitis in the winter (645 per 100 000) compared with the summer (748 per 100 000) (P < .001). The summer increase was more evident in areas with the greatest UV fluctuation vs areas with the least UV fluctuation (120 vs 70 per 100 000; P = .01).
Low UV light exposure is associated with an increased rate of diverticulitis admissions and greater seasonal variation. Because UV exposure largely determines vitamin D status, these findings support a role for vitamin D in the pathogenesis of diverticulitis.
The etiology of diverticulitis is poorly understood. The long-held belief that constipation and low-fiber diet are risk factors for diverticulosis has recently been challenged by studies that suggest ...that more frequent bowel movements predispose to diverticulosis. We aim to prospectively explore the association between bowel movement frequency and incident diverticulitis.
We studied participants of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Health Professional Follow-up Study (HPFS). Participants' medical history, lifestyle factors and diet were used in Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios(HRs) and 95% confidence intervals(CI).
In the NHS during over 24 years of follow-up encompassing 1,299,922 person-years, we documented 5,214 incident cases of diverticulitis, and in the HPFS over 14 years encompassing 368,661 person-years of follow-up, we documented 390 incident cases of diverticulitis. We observed an inverse association between the frequency of bowel movements and risk of diverticulitis. In the NHS, compared with women who had daily bowel movements, those with more than once daily bowel movements had a HR of 1.30 (95% CI, 1.19, 1.42) and those with less frequent bowel movements had a HR of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.82, 0.95; p-trend < 0.0001). In the HPFS, the corresponding HRs were 1.29 (95% CI, 1.04, 1.59) and 0.61 (95% CI, 0.36, 1.03; p-trend = 0.003). The association between bowel movements and diverticulitis was not modified by categories of age, BMI, physical activity, laxative use or fiber intake.
More frequent bowel movements appear to be a risk factor for subsequent diverticulitis both in men and women. Further studies are needed to understand the potential mechanisms that may underlie this association.
Background
Diverticulitis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are two highly prevalent disorders sharing common risk factors which are hypothesized to have an inflammatory basis.
Aims
To examine the ...association between history of diverticulitis and risk of incident CVD.
Methods
We conducted a prospective cohort study of 43,904 men aged 40 to 75 years without a history of CVD (fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke) at enrollment who were followed up from 1986 to 2012 in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Lifestyle factors, dietary intake, and disease information were self-reported biennially or quadrennially. Incident diverticulitis and CVD were confirmed by review of medical records. We used Cox proportional hazard models to calculate age- and multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of incident CVD. We conducted a stratified analysis according to the presence or absence of CVD risk factors (smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes).
Results
We identified 3848 incident cases of CVD during 856,319 person-years of follow-up. Men with diverticulitis had higher incidence of CVD (727 cases per 100,000 person-years) compared to men without diverticulitis 446 cases per 100,000 person-years, multivariate HR of 1.35 (95% CI 1.07–1.70). The association of diverticulitis and subsequent CVD appeared more evident among men without known CVD risk factors (HR 4.06, 95% CI 2.04–8.08) compared to those with one or more CVD risk factors (HR 1.27, 95% CI 0.98–1.63).
Conclusions
Diverticulitis may be an independent risk factor of incident CVD, suggesting possible common etiopathogenic mechanisms. Diagnosis of diverticulitis underscores the importance of preventive measures to reduce future CVD.
Diverticulitis is a significant cause of morbidity among older women, and little attention has been paid to understanding its etiology. We have shown that menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is ...associated with the risk of inflammatory bowel disease. In this study, we prospectively examined the association between MHT and the risk of incident diverticulitis.
We studied 65,367 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study who provided detailed information on hormone use and other medical and lifestyle factors biennially, and on diet every 4 years. Between 2008 and 2014, participants reported any episodes of diverticulitis that required antibiotics and the date of occurrence. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Over 24 years encompassing 1,297,165 person-years of follow-up, we documented 5,425 incident cases of diverticulitis. We observed an increased risk of diverticulitis among both current (HR 1.28; 95% CI 1.18-1.39) and past (HR 1.35; 95% CI 1.25-1.45) MHT users compared to never users. The increased risk was observed among participants using estrogen only (HR 1.30; 95% CI 1.20-1.41) and those using combined estrogen and progesterone (HR 1.31; 95% CI 1.21-1.42) compared to nonusers. The risk did not increase with longer duration of use (P-trend = 0.76). The association between MHT and diverticulitis was not modified by age, body mass index, past oral contraceptive use, or fiber intake (all P-interaction >0.11).
Menopausal hormone therapy was associated with an increased risk of diverticulitis. Further studies are needed to understand the potential mechanisms that may underlie this association.
Although the incidence of gastric cancer is higher than that of esophageal cancer in the United States, no screening or surveillance guidelines exist. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ...association between gastric intestinal metaplasia and the risk of gastric cancer in a U.S. tertiary care system with a large immigrant population.
This is a retrospective case-control study with cases of biopsy-proven gastric cancer matched (by age and gender) to controls without gastric cancer who had undergone EGD. The presence of gastric intestinal metaplasia was ascertained from pathology reports. Other potential risk factors for gastric cancer were abstracted from medical records as follows: country of origin, Helicobacter pylori infection, family history of gastric cancer, alcohol consumption, smoking, and history of partial gastrectomy (Billroth I or II). Conditional logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for gastric cancer.
One hundred fifty-two cases of gastric cancer were compared with 456 age- and gender-matched controls. The mean age was 66 years, and 57% were male. Multivariable analysis identified 2 significant predictors of gastric cancer: the presence of gastric intestinal metaplasia (odds ratio OR, 9.3; 95% confidence interval CI, 4.5-18.9; P < .001) and East Asian ethnicity (OR, 15.9; 95% CI, 5.8-43.6; P < .001).
The presence of gastric intestinal metaplasia on endoscopy and East Asian ethnicity were significant risk factors for gastric cancer. Screening East Asian immigrants and surveying patients with gastric intestinal metaplasia may improve the rates of early detection of gastric cancer in the United States.
Data regarding the influence of dose and duration of aspirin use on risk of gastrointestinal bleeding are conflicting.
We conducted a prospective cohort study of 32,989 men enrolled in the Health ...Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) in 1994 who provided biennial aspirin data. We estimated relative risk of major gastrointestinal bleeding requiring hospitalization or a blood transfusion.
During 14 years of follow-up, 707 men reported an episode of major gastrointestinal bleeding over 377,231 person-years. After adjusting for risk factors, regular aspirin use (≥2 times/week) had a multivariate relative risk (RR) of gastrointestinal bleeding of 1.32 (95% confidence interval CI, 1.12-1.55) compared to non-regular use. The association was particularly evident for upper gastrointestinal bleeding (multivariate RR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.16-1.92). Compared to men who denied any aspirin use, multivariate RRs of upper gastrointestinal bleeding were 1.05 (95% CI 0.71-1.52) for men who used 0.5-1.5 standard tablets/week, 1.31 (95% CI 0.88-1.95) for 2-5 aspirin/week, 1.63 (95% CI, 1.15-2.32) for 6-14 aspirin/week and 2.40 (95% CI, 1.10-5.22) for >14 aspirin/week (P(trend)<0.001). The relative risk also appeared to be dose-dependent among short-term users <5 years; P(trend)<.001) and long-term users (≥5 years; P(trend) = 0.015). In contrast, after controlling for dose, increasing duration of use did not appear to be associated with risk (P(trend) = 0.749).
Regular aspirin use increases the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, especially from the upper tract. However, risk of bleeding appears to be more strongly related to dose than to duration of use. Risk of bleeding should be minimized by using the lowest effective dose among short-term and long-term aspirin users.
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