Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Diverticulosis

Whether diverticulosis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are related is unclear. Many patients who have diverticulosis also have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but such instances might merely represent coincidental occurrences of two common but unrelated disorders.

To determine whether diverticulosis and IBS are related, investigators conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study in which 4194 patients (median age, 62; range, 30–95) with documented diverticulosis were mailed surveys regarding bowel disease.

In the 2298 patients who responded to the surveys, the presence of IBS (defined by Rome II criteria) was significantly associated with excess risk for diverticulosis (odds ratio, 1.8; P<0.001) but not for diverticulitis. Excess ris…