Smoking and Alcohol Intake may Increase Risk of Diverticulitis in Women

Written By : Jacinthlyn Sylvia |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2024-01-12T05:00:09+05:30 | Updated On 12 Jan 2024 11:44 AM IST

In a recent study published in the journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology conducted by the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II) uncovered new insights into the risk factors associated with diverticulitis in women. The study included 84,232 women who were of 39 to 52 years old and examined the impact of smoking and alcohol consumption on the incidence of diverticulitis.

Over the course of 1,139,660 person-years of follow-up, this study identified 3018 incident cases of diverticulitis which revealed a significant association between smoking, alcohol consumption and the risk of developing diverticulitis.

According to the findings of the study, both current and past smoking were associated with an increased risk of diverticulitis with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.20 (95% CI, 1.04–1.39) and 1.20 (95% CI, 1.11–1.30) respectively, when compared to never smokers. Also, women who consumed 30 grams or more of alcohol per day had a multivariate HR of 1.26 (95% CI, 1.05–1.50) when compared to non-drinkers.

Individuals who had a history of smoking and consumed over 30 grams of alcohol daily faced the highest risk of diverticulitis with a multivariate HR of 1.53 (95% CI, 1.22–1.91). This risk was notably higher when compared to participants who never smoked and reported no alcohol use.

These findings add crucial inputs to our understanding of diverticulitis by emphasizing the role of modifiable lifestyle factors in its development. This research underscored the significance with compelling evidence that both smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can independently contribute to an increased incident diverticulitis risk in women.

This finding deepens our comprehension of diverticular disease and helps in improving preventive strategies. The identification of smoking and alcohol consumption as significant risk factors offers an opportunity for targeted interventions which could potentially reduce the incidence of this condition among women.

Reference:

Gunby, S. A., Ma, W., Levy, M. J., Giovannucci, E. L., Chan, A. T., & Strate, L. L. (2023). Smoking and Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Incident Diverticulitis in Women. In Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2023.11.036

Clinical Gastroenterology and HepatologysmokingDiverticulitis in women

Source : Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Jacinthlyn Sylvia

Neuroscience Masters graduate

Jacinthlyn Sylvia, a Neuroscience Master's graduate from Chennai has worked extensively in deciphering the neurobiology of cognition and motor control in aging. She also has spread-out exposure to Neurosurgery from her Bachelor’s. She is currently involved in active Neuro-Oncology research. She is an upcoming neuroscientist with a fiery passion for writing. Her news cover at Medical Dialogues feature recent discoveries and updates from the healthcare and biomedical research fields. She can be reached at editorial@medicaldialogues.in

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751