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132. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Chirurgie

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie

28.04. - 01.05.2015, München

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Constipation is not associated with diverticular disease – analysis of 976 patients

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  • Tamara Braunschmid - Medizinische Universität Wien, Univ.-Klinik für Chirurgie, Wien, Österreich
  • Anton Stift - Medizinische Universität Wien, Univ.-Klinik für Chirurgie, Wien, Österreich
  • Martina Mittlböck - Medizinische Universtität Wien, Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems, Wien, Österreich
  • Amy Lord - Southampton University Hospital, Department of Surgery, Hampshire, SO16 6YD, Großbritannien
  • Stefan Riss - Medizinische Universität Wien, Univ.-Klinik für Chirurgie, Wien, Österreich

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie. 132. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Chirurgie. München, 28.04.-01.05.2015. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2015. Doc15dgch133

doi: 10.3205/15dgch133, urn:nbn:de:0183-15dgch1331

Published: April 24, 2015

© 2015 Braunschmid et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

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Introduction: In the light of controversial data in the literature, the present study was designed to evaluate potential associations between colonic diverticular disease, constipation and quality of life.

Material and methods: We prospectively enrolled 976 consecutive patients, who participated in the nationwide colorectal cancer screening program in four medical centers between 2008 and 2009. All patients underwent full colonoscopy and completed a standardized questionnaire. The severity of constipation was assessed by the validated Wexner constipation score. Quality of Life (QOL) was evaluated by the SF-12 health score.

Results: The median age was 62 years (range 22-90) and the male to female ratio was 1:1. Colonic diverticular disease was found in 290 participants (30%). Age, body mass index and diabetes mellitus were significantly associated with the presence of diverticular disease (p<0.0001, p=0.0007 and p=0.0178).

The median constipation score in patients with diverticular disease was 3 (range 0-18), and comparable to patients without diverticulae (p = 0.1073). The physical component summary of the SF-12 was significantly reduced in patients with diverticular disease (p = 0.0038).

Conclusion: This large population based study revealed no association between colonic diverticular disease and constipation. Notably, the presence of diverticular disease significantly impacts quality of life.