Recent trends in the prevalence and distribution of colonic diverticula in Japan evaluated using computed tomography colonography.

Background: Computed tomography colonography (CTC) may be superior to colonoscopy and barium enema for detecting diverticula. However, few studies have used CTC to diagnose diverticula.

Aim: To evaluate the current prevalence and distribution of colonic diverticula in Japan using CTC.

Methods: This study was conducted as part of the Japanese National Computed Tomographic Colonography Trial, which included 1181 participants from 14 hospitals in Japan. We analyzed the prevalence and distribution of colonic diverticula and their relationships with age and sex. The relationship between the diverticula and the length of the large intestine was also analyzed.

Results: Diverticulosis was present in 48.1% of the participants. The prevalence of diverticulosis was higher in the older participants ( < 0.001 for trend). The diverticula seen in younger participants were predominantly located in the right-sided colon. Older participants had a higher frequency of bilateral type (located in the right- and left-sided colon) diverticulosis ( < 0.001 for trend). The length of the large intestine with multiple diverticula in the sigmoid colon was significantly shorter in those without diverticula ( < 0.001).

Conclusion: The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis in Japan is higher than that previously reported. The prevalence was higher, and the distribution tended to be bilateral in older participants.