The economic burden of diverticular disease

Diverticular disease (DD) of the colon represents a common clinical condition affecting from one-fourth to one-third of the population in developed countries. Several epidemiological studies have clearly shown that in the last decades the rates of clinic visits and hospital admissions for DD and its complications are progressively increased. In addition, complications of DD are associated to a high mortality rate that continues unabated despite advances in surgery and intensive care. As consequence, the burden on health care resources has significantly increased over time, leading DD among the main causes of health spending for gastrointestinal diseases. In this review the most important data regarding health care resources utilization and costs for DD are analyzed and some proposals for reducing the burden on health care systems are hypothesized.