Colonic diverticular disease, especially diverticulitis constitutes a major cause of hospitalization and an economic burden in developed countries. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the commonest drugs used to treat several diseases affecting the upper gastrointestinal tract. A few studies have reported that the use of Proton Pump Inhibitors PPIs caused dysbiosis. In this study, we searched for a relationship between PPI use and the onset and severity of diverticulitis in patients with colonic diverticulosis. In a retrospective study, patients who were hospitalized for documented diverticulitis were enrolled as cases and compared with a control group of patients with uncomplicated diverticulosis. Overall, 613 patients who had a diagnosis of diverticulosis were included in the study, 217 of whom had diverticulitis. After multivariate analysis, the non-modifiable risk factors associated with diverticulitis included: age (p < 0.0001), hypertension (p < 0.0001), chronic renal failure (p = 0.007), diabetes mellitus (p < 0.0001), and left colon location (p = 0.02). However, among the modifiable factors, only PPI use (p < 0.0001) showed a significant association. Advanced disease severity (according to Hinchey classification of diverticulitis stages II-IV) was associated with aspirin use (p = 0.0004) and pan-colonic location (p = 0.02). PPI use was the only modifiable factor significantly associated with diverticulitis, but not with its severity, among patients with diverticulosis. This observation should be confirmed in future multicenter prospective studies.
Keywords: PPI; diverticulitis; diverticulosis; risk factors.