The number of severe cases of a painful colon-related condition thought to be a “disease of older adults” are surging among Americans younger than 50.
Based on analysis of more than 5.2 million adult hospitalizations, research led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Vanderbilt University revealed a 52 percent increase in complicated cases of diverticulitis—an inflammation in the large intestine—from 2005 to 2020.
Among younger U.S. adults, the proportion severe cases—which involved abscesses, perforations or other serious complications—were found to jump from 18.5 percent to 28.2 percent in the time period studied.
Patients with early-onset diverticulitis were also “more likely to undergo colectomy [a surgical procedure to remove all or part of the colon] or percutaneous drainage [to drain fluid] than those with standard-onset (at age 50 years or older) diverticulitis,” the study authors wrote in the paper.
“We’re seeing a significant shift in who is being hospitalized for severe diverticulitis,” said study author medical student Shineui Kim of UCLA in a statement. “This condition was traditionally thought of as a disease of older adults, but our data shows that younger Americans are increasingly affected and often with more complicated presentations.”
This points to a growing public health concern for younger Americans, a population also experiencing similar increases in colorectal cancer diagnoses, added Kim and colleague Aimal Khan, a colon and rectal surgery professor at Vanderbilt.
What is Diverticulosis
Diverticulosis is a condition that occurs when small pouches, or sacs, form and push outward through “weak spots” in the wall of the colon, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These pouches mostly form in the lower reaches: the so-called sigmoid colon.
While most people who have these pouches exhibit no signs or symptoms, in some cases, they can lead to inflammation and resulting abdominal pain, bloating, bleeding, constipation and diarrhea.
Known as diverticulitis, this inflammation can come on suddenly and potentially lead to serious complications. People have typically been more likely to develop both diverticulosis and diverticulitis as they age.
Now, the analysis of American adults from the National Inpatient Sample—the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient healthcare database in the U.S.—shows a “significant shift” to include a demographic historically at lower risk.
Of the diverticulitis hospitalizations analyzed, around 16 percent or 837,195 were classified as “early-onset” cases occurring in patients younger than 50 years old. Of these, the number of people admitted to the hospital for complicated diverticulitis increased from 18.5 percent to 28.2 percent, the researchers noted.
However, the proportion of younger patients requiring colectomy decreased from 34.7 percent to 20.3 percent during the study period, likely due to evolving treatment strategies and management techniques.
While the number of younger Americans experiencing the painful diverticulitis is on the rise, this group experienced lower mortality rates, shorter hospital stays and lower hospitalization costs than older patients.
But—despite the decline in colectomies required over time—younger patients were more likely to require intervention than the older group, with 29 percent higher odds of needing a colectomy and 58 percent higher odds of requiring percutaneous drainage.
“While younger patients generally have better survival outcomes and shorter hospitalizations, they’re paradoxically more likely to need invasive interventions,” Kim said. “This suggests their disease may be more aggressive or that treatment approaches differ based on patient age and overall health status.”
According to the National Institues of Health, diverticulitis is more common in men among people younger than age 50, while among people aged 50 and older, it is more common in women.
Additional research is needed to determine the cause of the rise of diverticulitis in younger Americans—including diet, lifestyle or environmental factors—and identify public health policies to potentially prevent this increasing burden among the younger population, the study authors said.
Newsweek has reached out to the researchers for additional comment.
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Reference
Kim, S., Kwon, O. J., Chervu, N. L., Mallick, S., Ali, K., Benharash, P., Hawkins, A. T., Lee, H., & Khan, A. (2025). National Trends in Hospital Admissions, Interventions, and Outcomes for Early-Onset (Age <50 years) Diverticulitis From 2005 to 2020. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, 68(5), 562. https://doi.org/10.1097/DCR.0000000000003668
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