Digestive Health Digestive Health Basics

Understanding Diverticular Disease

Summary & Participants

Diverticular disease is a common colon disorder, affecting approximately 50 percent of people in the United States by the age of 60. Few people, however, have noticeable symptoms and discovery of the disease is often coincidental. Why is this condition so hard to detect? Join our specialists as they focus on the issues.

Medically Reviewed On: June 19, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Hi, and welcome to our webcast. I'm Dr. David Marks. Today we're going to be talking about diverticular disease. It's a common disease of the colon that affects approximately 50 percentof people in the United States by the age of 60. What causes this disease, and why is it so hard to detect? And what can you do to find out if you have it?

Here to explain this disease are two experts. First is Dr. Mark Pochapin. He's a gastroenterologist at the Weill Cornell Medical College.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Thanks.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Next to him is Dr. Michael Lieberman. He's a colorectal surgeon, also from the Weill Cornell Medical College. Thanks for being here.

MICHAEL LIEBERMAN, MD: Thank you, David.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: In a nutshell, what is diverticular disease?

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Diverticular disease is really a herniation of the inner lining of the colon, through a small weakness in the wall that penetrates like a little pocket towards the outside of the colon. When you look at it, you see, literally, little pockets from the inside. That's called diverticulosis.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: How commonly do you find diverticula in people?

MICHAEL LIEBERMAN, MD: Diverticulosis is very common. The older our population gets, the more common it is to find diverticulosis on endoscopy or in imaging studies, such as CAT scans or barium enema. So it's very common.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: But it may cause no symptoms.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: That's right. In fact, it's usually just an incidental finding. In fact, when you start getting closer to the age of 60 and 70, it may not even be a disease, because more Americans have it than not. Over 50 percent will have that finding.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: What causes that outpouching?

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: That's a really interesting question. People think it's our sort of poor American diet. Low fiber, high fat. Possibly the fact that we do have an older population. And also, some people think we just don't go to the bathroom enough, and that by holding fecal matter in, causes increased pressure, and these little pockets form.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: When does diverticulosis actually become a problem?

MICHAEL LIEBERMAN, MD: Diverticulosis becomes a problem in two different scenarios. One is when the outpouchings become inflamed. That, many times, is due to small perforations in the outpouchings that set up an infection in the area of the perforation. That's called diverticulitis. The other scenario where it causes difficulty is with bleeding. There tends to be an association of diverticulosis and bleeding within the colon. Those are the two most common scenarios that we see problems, infection and bleeding.

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