LAUSR

INTRODUCTION The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis and diverticulitis has significantly increased in recent years. Obesity is a well-known risk factor for diverticulitis, but thus far less is known about the association between diverticulitis and overweight. OBJECTIVE To assess the association between overweight and diverticulitis and to study the potential relationship between body mass index (BMI) and disease severity. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a retrospective, multicenter study. Patients who had been diagnosed with diverticulosis, which had been confirmed by colonoscopy, were included. The diagnosis of diverticulitis was confirmed by use of computed tomography. Weight status was defined as normal in cases of BMI = 18.5-24.9kg/m2, overweight when BMI was 25-29.9kg/m2 and obese with BMI ≥30kg/m2. RESULTS 592 patients were included. Among them, 157 patients (26.5%) were of normal BMI, 191 (32.3%) were overweight and 244 (41.2%) were obese. Patients with BMIs above the normal range had a higher odds of diverticulitis as compared with those with normal BMI (OR: 3.10, 95% CI: 2.00-4.73, P <0.001). Obesity was associated with a higher odds of diverticulitis as compared with patients who had normal BMI (OR: 4.50, 95% CI 2.84-7.12, P <0.001). Patients with overweight BMI had a higher odds of diverticulitis than was found in the normal BMI group (OR: 1.85, 95% CI 1.14-3.00, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS  Overweight was associated with an increased risk of diverticulitis among patients with diverticulosis. Since overweight is a modifiable factor, this observation has preventive importance.