In:
Endoskopi Gastrointestinal, Endoscopy Gastrointestinal, Vol. 24, No. 3 ( 2017-01-02), p. 73-77
Abstract:
Background and Aims: Diverticulosis is a very common condition. While most patients have asymptomatic diverticulosis, around one in five develops symptomatic diverticular disease. The development of diverticulosis is rare in youth, an increase in age being a major risk factor for the development of diverticulosis. Diverticula are found in more than one-half of adults over the age of 65 years. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory features of geriatric patients who developed diverticulosis and to compare them to subjects with no diverticula. Materials and Methods: This retrospective case-control study included subjects aged over 65 years who underwent a colonoscopy in the period of 2011-2016 for an indication of colorectal cancer screening. Patients with diverticulosis as detected by a colonoscopy were compared to patients without diverticulosis. The comparison parameters included demographic data, comorbidities, and laboratory parameters, including a complete blood count, blood biochemistry, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein.Results: The study included 175 patients with diverticulosis whose age and sex matched 175 patients without diverticulosis. The mean age was 75.3±5.6 years in the diverticulosis group and 74.2±6.2 years in the control group. Females comprised 37% of the diverticulosis group and 42% of the control group. Diverticula were predominantly left-sided in 53%, right-sided in 9%, and bilateral in 38%. There was no difference between the groups in terms of the presence of hy- pertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia. The median erythrocyte sedimentation rate was higher in the diverticulosis group than in the control group (21 mm/hour (2-67) vs 17 mm/hour (3-59), p=0.03). We could not detect any difference between the groups in terms of C-reactive protein [4 mg/L (0.3-75) vs 3.5 mg/L (1.1-43.5), p=0.71] . The only biochemical parameter that was different between the groups was creatinine. The median creatinine was higher [0.90 mg/dL (0.32-2.16)] in the diverticulosis group when compared to the control group [0.82 mg/dL (0.37-2.41)] (p=0.005). Conclusions: Contrary to previous studies, we could not detect a higher prevalence of hypertension in patients with diverticulosis when compared to control subjects in this study. Our findings suggest that higher creatinine values in patients with diverticulosis may not be associated with a renal impairment in the geriatric population; instead, it may be related to obesity, which is a well-known factor for the development of diverticulosis. Obesity in adulthood may relatively contribute to protein-energy malnutrition and sarcopenia in those of an advanced age. A higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate may be an indirect marker of the ongoing low-grade inflammation in geriatric patients with diverticulosis.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1302-5422
DOI:
10.17940/endoskopi.466604
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Endoscopy Gastrointestinal
Publication Date:
2017
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