Diverticulosis and risk of diverticulitis in 10 years; a Swedish retrospective observational study.

Background: Diverticulosis is a common condition and is thought to be increasing in the Western population. Several studies have attempted to estimate the prevalence of diverticulosis and it's inflamed state, diverticulitis, with results varying depending on study population and methodology, The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of diverticulosis in patients undergoing colonoscopy at a Swedish academic referral centre and to study the incidence of diverticulitis in a 10-year follow-up.

Methods: All patients who had undergone colonoscopy at the Endoscopy unit, Skåne University Hospital, Sweden, during 01 January 2010 through 31 December 2011 were identified. The colonoscopy referrals, colonoscopy reports, and medical records until 14 June 2022 were reviewed.

Results: In all, 2648 patients were included in the study, whereof 910 patients had reported diverticulosis (34.4%). During the 10-year follow-up, the overall incidence of computed tomography verified diverticulitis was 4.4%, and 0.6% for patients with and without diverticulosis at index colonoscopy, respectively. Of the 50 patients that developed diverticulitis, 21 were complicated and 29 uncomplicated.

Conclusion: Diverticulosis is a common condition in the population, although most patients will not develop diverticulitis.