Demographic determinants of risk,colon distribution and density scores of diverticular disease

AIM:To investigate associations between ethnicity,age and sex and the risk,colon distribution and density scores of diverticular disease(DD).METHODS:Barium enemas were examined in 1000 patients:410 male,590 female;760 whites,62 Asians,44 black africans(BAs),and 134 other blacks(OBs).Risks and diverticula density of left-sided DD(LSDD) and rightsided-component DD(RSCDD = right-sided DD + right and left DD + Pan-DD) were compared using logistic regression.RESULTS:Four hundred and forty-seven patients had DD(322 LSDD and 125 RSCDD).Adjusted risks:(1) LSDD:each year increase in age increased the odds by 6%(95% CI:5-8,SE:0.8%,P < 0.001);Asians:odds ratio(OR):0.23(95% CI:0.10-0.53,SE:0.1,P ≤ 0.001) and OBs:OR:0.25(95% CI:0.14-0.43,SE:0.07,P ≤ 0.001) appeared protected vs Whites;(2) RSCDD:each year increase in age increased the odds by 4%(95% CI:2-6,SE:1%,P < 0.001);females were 0.60 times(95% CI:0.40-0.90,SE:0.12,P = 0.01) less likely than males to have RSCDD;BAs were 3.51 times(95% CI:1.70-7.24,SE:1.30,P < 0.001) more likely than Whites to have RSCDD;and(3) DD density scores:each year increase in age increased the odds of highdensity scores by 4%(95% CI:1-6,SE:1%,P < 0.001);RSCDD was 2.77 times(95% CI:1.39-3.32,SE:0.67,P < 0.001) more likely to be of high density than LSDD.No further signif icant differences were found in the adjusted models.CONCLUSION:Right colonic DD might be more common and has higher diverticula density in the west than previously reported.BAs appear predisposed to DD,whereas other ethnic differences appear conserved following migration.