Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Jun;25(2):140-6.
doi: 10.3904/kjim.2010.25.2.140. Epub 2010 Jun 1.

Clinical characteristics of colonic diverticulosis in Korea: a prospective study

Jung Hoon Song  1 , You Sun Kim, Jin Ho Lee, Kyung Sun Ok, Soo Hyung Ryu, Jung Hwan Lee, Jeong Seop Moon
Affiliations

Clinical characteristics of colonic diverticulosis in Korea: a prospective study

Jung Hoon Song et al. Korean J Intern Med. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Background/aims: The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis has been reported to be lower in Korea than in Western countries. This disease also shows markedly different characteristics in the Korean population. We describe herein a prospective investigation, based on colonoscopic examination, of the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and factors associated with colonic diverticulosis in Korea.

Methods: The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis has been reported to be lower in Korea than in Western countries. This disease also shows markedly different characteristics in the Korean population. We describe herein a prospective investigation, based on colonoscopic examination, of the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and factors associated with colonic diverticulosis in Korea.

Results: The overall prevalence of colonic diverticulosis was 12.1% (103/848). The right side of the colon was involved in 84.5% of patients (87/103); patients with right side diverticula were, on average, younger than those with left side diverticulosis (p = 0.014). Multiple diverticula were observed in 60.2% (62/103) of patients. Age greater than 60 years, a high-fat diet, and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with the presence of colonic diverticulosis (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis in Korea is increasing and is most commonly located in the right side of the colon. Further, old age and diet may affect the risk of development of this disease.

Keywords: Colonoscopy; Diverticulum, colon; Korea; Prospective studies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of colonic diverticulosis by age group. The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis increased with age (p = 0.007). Figures in parentheses indicate the number of patients with diverticula and the total number of subjects in each group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Simpson J, Scholefield JH, Spiller RC. Pathogenesis of colnoic diverticula. Br J Surg. 2002;89:546–554. - PubMed
    1. Stollman NH, Raskin JB. Diverticular disease of the colon. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1999;29:241–252. - PubMed
    1. Bogardus ST., Jr What do we know about diverticular disease? A brief overview. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2006;40(Suppl 3):S108–S111. - PubMed
    1. Parra-Blanco A. Colonic diverticular disease: pathophysiology and clinical picture. Digestion. 2006;73(Suppl 1):47–57. - PubMed
    1. Heise CP. Epidemiology and pathogenesis of diverticular disease. J Gastrointest Surg. 2008;12:1309–1311. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms