Abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in the colon mucosa in diverticular disease

Table 1 Basal characteristics of the subjects n (%)

Characteristic	Diverticular disease, n = 16	No diverticula, n = 35	P value
Age in year	68 (62-76)	62 (40-74)	0.072
Sex, male/female	6/10	18/17	0.384
Body mass index in kg/m2	27 (24-30)	25 (22-27)	0.136
Education			0.001
Primary school	9 (60.0)	7 (20.0)
Secondary school	1 (6.7)	20 (57.1)
Higher education	4 (26.7)	6 (17.1)
Missing	1 (6.7)	2 (5.7)
Occupation			0.332
Working/studying	4 (25.0)	15 (42.9)
Retired	9 (56.3)	16 (45.7)
Sick leave/disability	2 (12.5)	2 (5.7)
Missing	1 (6.3)	2 (5.7)
Civil status			0.376
Single/living alone	2 (12.5)	2 (5.7)
Married/cohabitation	8 (50.0)	22 (62.9)
Divorced/widowed	5 (31.3)	6 (17.1)
Missing	1 (6.3)	5 (14.3)
Physical activity			0.033
Mostly sitting	5 (31.3)	1 (2.9)
Light activity	6 (37.5)	15 (42.9)
Moderate but regular activity	3 (18.8)	14 (40.0)
Regular activity	1 (6.3)	3 (8.6)
Missing	1 (6.3)	2 (5.7)
Smoking			0.668
Never smoked	4 (25.0)	13 (37.1)
Former smokers	7 (43.8)	15 (42.9)
Current smokers	4 (25.1)	5 (14.3)
Missing	1 (6.3)	2 (5.7)
Alcohol intake frequency			0.765
Never	4 (25.0)	4 (11.4)
Once monthly or less	3 (18.8)	10 (28.6)
2-4 times a month	3 (18.8)	9 (25.7)
2-3 times a week	4 (25.0)	8 (22.9)
≥ 4 times a week	1 (6.3)	2 (5.7)
Missing	1 (6.3)	2 (5.7)
Alcohol amount at each intake			0.231
1-2 glasses	7 (43.8)	20 (57.1)
3-4 glasses	2 (12.5)	7 (20.0)
≥ 5 glasses	2 (12.5)	1 (2.9)
Missing	5 (31.3)	6 (17.2)
Alcohol intake of 6 or more glasses			0.361
Never	9 (56.3)	15 (42.9)
Once monthly or less	5 (31.3)	11 (31.4)
Daily or several days a week	1 (6.3)	4 (11.4)
Missing	1 (6.3)	5 (14.3)
Antibiotic use last 6 mo	5 (31.3)	5 (14.3)	0.299
Probiotic use	2 (1.3)	2 (6.1)	0.701
Vaginal delivery	15 (93.8)	31 (88.6)	1

Values are presented as median (interquartile ranges), unless otherwise indicated. Differences between groups were calculated by Fisher’s exact test or Mann-Whitney U test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Table 2 Legree of symptoms based on Visual Analog Scale for Irritable Bowel

	Diverticular disease, n = 16	No diverticula, n = 35	P value	Symptom level, median	Symptom, n (%)	P value
VAS-IBS, median (IQR)
Abdominal pain	81 (49-100)	84 (48-100)	0.759	95	21 (60)/9 (56)	1
Diarrhea	96 (61-100)	83 (50-100)	0.404	97	23 (66)/8 (50)	0.506
Constipation	95 (52-100)	98 (54-100)	0.613	91	14 (40)/7 (44)	1
Bloating and flatulence	75 (23-100)	61 (40-100)	0.711	85	22 (63)/9 (56)	0.749
Nausea and vomiting	93 (48-100)	97 (80-100)	0.347	98	17 (49)/9 (56)	0.756
Absence of any GI symptom	4 (25)	4 (11.4)	0.236
GI comorbidities, n (%)
Celiac disease	0	0
Functional dyspepsia	5 (31.3)	8 (22.9)	0.509
IBS	5 (31.3)	17 (48.6)	0.212
Gastric ulcer	5 (31.3)	7 (20.0)	0.476
Lactose intolerance	1 (6.3)	0	0.093
Reflux	5 (31.3)	9 (25.7)	0.738

Data are presented as median [interquartile range (IQR)] or number and percentages. Symptom number is the number in each group presenting with symptoms. The level of VAS-IBS used to differentiate between symptoms or not is defined as a score above the median values in healthy subjects (No 22). Mann-Whitney U test or Fisher’s exact test. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. GI: Gastrointestinal; IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; VAS-IBS: Visual Analog Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Table 3 Mucosal count of Enterobacteriaceae and gut microbiota diversity and humoral inflammatory biomarkers

	Diverticular disease, n = 16	No diverticula, n = 35	P value
Enterobacteriaceae, log10 16S rRNA genes/g	9.27 (7.34-10.04)	7.76 (7.13-8.76)	0.043
Shannon-Wiener index	2.02 (1.80-2.36)	2.30 (1.94-2.48)	0.401
Simpson’s index	0.80 (0.75-0.86)	0.82 (0.76-0.88)	0.383
T-RF, n	17.0 (11.0-21.0)	17.0 (12.5-22.0)	0.776
P-CRP, mg/L	4.40 (1.38-5.80)	1.70 (0.60-6.00)	0.346
B-leukocytes, 109/L	8.40 (6.38-9.98)	8.10 (5.90-8.85)	0.466
B-thrombocytes, 109/L	289 (219-334)	219 (186-266)	0.149
P-albumin, g/L	36 (34-42)	36 (34-40)	0.819

Gut microbiota was analyzed in feces, and inflammatory biomarkers in blood or plasma. Data are presented as median (interquartile range). Mann-Whitney U test. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. B: Blood; P: Plasma; T-RF: Terminal restriction fragments.