Environmental and Dietary Risk Factors for Colonic Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis.

Background And Aims: Colonic diverticulosis (CD) is among the most common conditions of the large bowel. Several factors have been associated with an increased risk of CD and its complications, including advanced age, obesity, physical inactivity, and a low-fiber diet. Available data is conflicting and a comprehensive analysis of different bowel, dietary and environmental habits linked with CD is lacking.

Common variation in FAM155A is associated with diverticulitis but not diverticulosis.

Colonic diverticulosis is a very common condition. Many patients develop diverticulitis or other complications of diverticular disease. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) consistently identified three major genetic susceptibility factors for both conditions, but did not discriminate diverticulititis and diverticulosis in particular due the limitations of registry-based approaches.

Ultrastructural changes of the human enteric nervous system and interstitial cells of Cajal in diverticular disease.

Background: In spite of numerous advances in understanding diverticular disease, its pathogenesis remains one of the main problems to be solved. We aimed to investigate the ultrastructural changes of the enteric nervous system in unaffected individuals, in asymptomatic patients with diverticulosis and in patients with diverticular disease.

Methods: Transmission electron microscopy was used to analyse samples of the myenteric, outer submucosal and inner submucosal plexuses from patients without diverticula (n=9), asymptomatic patients with diverticulosis (n=7) and in patients with complicated diverticular disease (n=9).

A Variant of COL3A1 (rs3134646) Is Associated With Risk of Developing Diverticulosis in White Men.

Background: Colonic diverticulosis is one of the most common gastroenterological disorders. Although diverticulosis is typically benign, many individuals develop diverticulitis or other aspects of diverticular disease. Diverticulosis is thought to stem from a complex interaction of environmental, dietary, and genetic factors; however, the contributing genetic factors remain unknown.