Diverticulitis up to 27% more common in summer or autumn than winter, Aussie review shows

Diverticulitis cases peak in summer and autumn, likely because of seasonal changes in diet, activity and hydration, an Australian systematic review has found.

The findings suggest that doctors can help patients by emphasising risk reduction during the warmer months, the researchers from Liverpool Hospital in Sydney say.

Their review of more than 1.1 million diverticulitis cases from 1997 to 2019 found that cases troughed in winter, before rising 16-27% in summer and autumn.

The pattern was consistent across hemispheres, suggesting modifiable environmental factors were at play, they wrote in JAMA Surgery.

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