Causes of Diverticular Disease
List of causes of Diverticular Disease
Following is a list of causes or underlying conditions
(see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of Diverticular Disease)
that could possibly cause Diverticular Disease includes:
- Low-fiber diet
- Low-fibre diet
- Increased pressure
- Lack of exercise
- Constipation
- Areas of wall weakness
- Older age
- Diverticula are thought to be caused by increased pressure within the lumen of the colon. Increased intra-colonic pressure secondary to constipation may lead to weaknesses in the colon walls giving way to diverticula. Other causes may include a colonic spasm which increases pressure, which may be due to dehydration or low-fiber diets; although this may also be due to constipation. Risk factors:
- A diet which is low in fiber content or high in fat
- High intake of meat and red meat
- Increasing age
- Constipating conditions
- Diverticulitis is caused by inflammation, or (sometimes) a small tear in a diverticulum. If the tear is large, stool in the colon can spill into the abdominal cavity, causing an infection (abscess) or inflammation in the abdomen
Diverticular Disease Causes: Book Excerpts
Diverticular Disease as a complication of other conditions:
Other conditions that might have
Diverticular Disease as a complication may,
potentially, be an underlying cause of Diverticular Disease.
Our database lists the following as having
Diverticular Disease as a complication of that condition:
Diverticular Disease as a symptom:
Conditions listing Diverticular Disease
as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Diverticular Disease.
Our database lists the following as having
Diverticular Disease as a symptom of that condition:
What causes Diverticular Disease?
Causes: Diverticular Disease:
Though not proven, the dominant theory is that a low-fiber diet is the
main cause of diverticular disease.
(Source: excerpt from Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis: NIDDK)
Article excerpts about the
causes of Diverticular Disease:
Though not proven, the dominant theory is that a low-fiber diet is the
main cause of diverticular disease.
The disease was first noticed in the
United States in the early 1900s. At about the same time, processed foods
were introduced to the American diet. Many processed foods contain
refined, low-fiber flour. Unlike whole-wheat flour, refined flour has no
wheat bran.
Diverticular disease is common in developed or industrialized
countries--particularly the United States, England, and Australia--where
low-fiber diets are common. The disease is rare in countries of Asia and
Africa, where people eat high-fiber vegetable diets.
Fiber is the part of fruits, vegetables, and grains that the body
cannot digest. Some fiber dissolves easily in water (soluble fiber). It
takes on a soft, jelly-like texture in the intestines. Some fiber passes
almost unchanged through the intestines (insoluble fiber). Both kinds of
fiber help make stools soft and easy to pass. Fiber also prevents
constipation.
Constipation makes the muscles strain to move stool that is too hard.
It is the main cause of increased pressure in the colon. The excess
pressure might be the cause of the weak spots in the colon that bulge out
and become diverticula.
Diverticulitis occurs when diverticula become infected or inflamed.
Doctors are not certain what causes the infection. It may begin when stool
or bacteria are caught in the diverticula. An attack of diverticulitis can
develop suddenly and without warning.
(Source: excerpt from Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis: NIDDK)
Related information on causes of Diverticular Disease:
As with all medical conditions,
there may be many causal factors.
Further relevant information on causes of Diverticular Disease may be found in:
Causes of Diverticular Disease: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration,
for more information about the causes of Diverticular Disease.
Diverticular disease:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
In diverticulitis, retained undigested food mixed with bacteria accumulates in the diverticular sac, forming a hard mass (fecalith). This substance cuts off the blood supply to the thin walls of the sac, making them more susceptible to attack by colonic bacteria. Inflammation follows, possibly leading to perforation, abscess, peritonitis, obstruction, or hemorrhage. Occasionally, the inflamed colon segment may produce a fistula by adhering to the bladder or other organs.
Diverticula probably result from high intraluminal pressure on areas of weakness in the GI wall, where blood vessels enter. Diet may also be a contributing factor because insufficient fiber reduces fecal residue, narrows the bowel lumen, and leads to higher intra-abdominal pressure during defecation. The prevalence of diverticulosis in Western industrialized nations, where processing removes much of the roughage from foods, supports this theory. Diverticular disease is most prevalent in those older than age 40.
The incidence of diverticular disease increases with age, but 20% of patients are younger than age 50. Right-sided diverticulitis is most common in Asians, accounting for 75% of cases in that ethnic group. Left-sided diverticulitis is more common in Western countries, where it accounts for 70% of cases.
ELDER TIP About 50% of older adults develop diverticulosis. In elderly patients, a rare complication of diverticulosis (without diverticulitis) is hemorrhage from colonic diverticula. Such hemorrhage is usually mild to moderate and easily controlled, but may occasionally be massive and life-threatening.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Esophageal diverticula:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Esophageal diverticula are due to primary muscular abnormalities that may be congenital or to inflammatory processes adjacent to the esophagus. Zenker’s diverticulum occurs when the pouch results from increased intraesophageal pressure; traction diverticulum occurs when the pouch is pulled out by adjacent inflamed tissue or lymph nodes. Some authorities classify all diverticula as traction diverticula.
Zenker’s diverticulum results from developmental muscular weakness of the posterior pharynx above the border of the cricopharyngeal muscle. The pressure of swallowing aggravates this weakness, as does contraction of the pharynx before relaxation of the sphincter. A midesophageal (traction) diverticulum is a response to scarring and pulling on esophageal walls by an external inflammatory process such as tuberculosis. An epiphrenic diverticulum (rare) is generally right-sided and usually accompanies an esophageal motor disturbance, such as esophageal spasm or achalasia. It’s thought to be caused by traction and pulsation.
Most diverticula occur in middle-aged and elderly patients. Zenker’s diverticula most commonly in patients older than age 50 and are especially prevalent in patients in their 70s and 80s.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Diverticular disease:
Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)
Diverticular disease is most prevalent in men older than age 40 and is rarely found in cultures whose diets are high in residue. Diverticula probably result from high intraluminal pressure on areas of weakness in the GI wall, where blood vessels enter. Herniation of mucosa occurs through weak areas of the GI tract.
Diet may also be a contributing factor because lack of roughage reduces fecal residue, narrows the bowel lumen, and leads to higher intra-abdominal pressure during defecation. The fact that diverticulosis is most prevalent in Western industrialized nations, where processing removes much of the roughage from foods, supports this theory. Diverticulosis is less common in nations where the diet contains more natural bulk and fiber.
In diverticulitis, retained undigested food mixed with bacteria accumulates in the diverticular sac, forming a hard mass (fecalith). This substance cuts off the blood supply to the thin walls of the sac, making them more susceptible to attack by colonic bacteria.
Inflammation follows, possibly leading to perforation, abscess, peritonitis, obstruction, or hemorrhage. Occasionally, the inflamed colon segment may produce a fistula by adhering to the bladder or other organs.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Esophageal diverticula:
Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)
Esophageal diverticula are caused by either primary muscle abnormalities that may be congenital or inflammatory processes adjacent to the esophagus.
Zenker’s diverticulum
When the pouch results from increased intraesophageal pressure, Zenker’s diverticulum occurs. It’s caused by developmental muscle weakness of the posterior pharynx above the border of the cricopharyngeal muscle. The pressure of swallowing aggravates this weakness, as does contraction of the pharynx before relaxation of the sphincter.
Traction diverticulum
When the pouch is pulled out by adjacent inflamed tissue or lymph nodes, a midesophageal (traction) diverticulum occurs. It’s a response to scarring and pulling on esophageal walls by an external inflammatory process such as tuberculosis. It’s diagnosed as an incidental finding on a barium esophagogram and is usually asymptomatic. No specific treatment is indicated.
Epiphrenic diverticulum
This diverticulum occurs within the distal 4" (10 cm) of the esophagus. It’s a pulsion diverticulum that’s caused by abnormally elevated pressure within the lumen of the esophagus.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Meckel Diverticulum:
Meckel Diverticulum - pathophysiology
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)
- Meckel diverticulum is a true diverticulum containing all 3 layers of the bowel wall, and its vascular supply comes from a remnant of the vitelline artery.
- Most of these diverticula are lined with ileal mucosa, but ectopic tissue is often present.
- ~50% of diverticula contain ectopic tissue.
- Gastric tissue accounts for 60–85%.
- Pancreatic tissue accounts for 5–16%.
- Other less common tissue types include colonic and duodenal.
- Of the symptomatic cases of Meckel diverticulum, 40–80% have some type of ectopic tissue, with the most common being gastric or pancreatic type.
Meckel Diverticulum - etiology
- This abnormality results from the incomplete obliteration of the fetal omphalomesenteric (vitelline) duct between the 7th and 8th week of gestation.
- The vitelline duct communicates with the yolk sac and involutes as the placenta replaces the yolk sac as the source of fetal nutrition. Failure of this process results in various anomalies; Meckel diverticulum accounts for 90% of the vitelline duct anomalies.
- This diverticulum originates from the antimesenteric border of the bowel in the region of the terminal ileum and proximal to the ileocecal valve. It can be between 3 and 6 cm in length.
- Other intestinal diverticula are more common in the jejunum and on the mesenteric border of the bowel.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008
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