The changing epidemiology of diverticular disease in Israel

In a retrospective evaluation of 1244 consecutive barium enemas performed at two hospitals over a five-year period (1979 to 1984), colonic diverticula were found in 177 (14.2 percent). The prevalence among the Ashkenazi Jews was 19.7 percent, among the Sephardi and Oriental Jews, 16 percent, and among the Arabs, 9.5 percent. Comparing these figures with the results of a similar study performed ten years ago, it becomes obvious that the prevalence of diverticular disease in the Ashkenazi group remained the same, while there was a three-fold increase among Sephardi and Oriental Jews, and a seven-fold increase among Arabs. It is postulated that, in less than one generation, diverticular disease will be equally frequent among all ethnic groups in Israel.