Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with lower prevalence of asymptomatic diverticulosis: a cross-sectional colonoscopy-based study.

Background: Previous studies of the relationship between dietary factors and risk of diverticulosis have yielded inconsistent results. We therefore sought to investigate the association between consumption of fruit and vegetables and prevalent diverticulosis.

Methods: Our study population included participants in the Gastrointestinal Disease and Endoscopy Registry (GIDER), a colonoscopy-based longitudinal cohort at the Massachusetts General Hospital, who provided comprehensive information on dietary intake and lifestyle factors using validated questionnaires prior to colonoscopy. Information on presence and location of diverticula was obtained from the endoscopist at the end of each procedure. We used Poisson regression modeling to calculate the prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: Among 549 participants with a mean age of 61 years enrolled in GIDER, we confirmed diverticulosis in 245 (44.6%). The prevalence of diverticulosis appeared to decrease with higher consumption of fruit and vegetables (P = 0.007 for fruit and 0.008 for vegetables, respectively). Compared to participants with less than five servings of vegetables per week, the multivariable-adjusted PRs of diverticulosis were 0.84 (95% CI, 0.60-1.17) with five to seven servings per week and 0.62 (95% CI, 0.44-0.89) with greater than one serving per day. Similarly, compared to participants with less than five servings per week of fruit, the multivariable-adjusted PR of diverticulosis was 0.60 (95% CI, 0.41-0.87) with greater than one serving per day. These associations were not modified by age, BMI, smoking, or red meat intake (All P > 0.055).

Conclusion: In a colonoscopy-based longitudinal cohort study, we show that higher consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with lower risk of prevalent diverticulosis.