Approximately 60% of adults over the age of 60 have diverticulosis, of whom 5% will experience complications such as diverticulitis or diverticular bleeding. There are an estimated 300,000 hospital admissions per year in the United States for diverticulitis (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2013;11:1609-13). Despite this burden of disease, risk stratification and prevention strategies for diverticulitis are lacking. Based on the observation that diverticulitis prevalence is significantly higher in developed countries where diets are typically low in fiber, it has been hypothesized that high fiber intake is protective. However, the relationship between specific fiber sources and diverticulitis risk has been difficult to elucidate, as studies have used patient-reported diet data and have quantified fiber intake indirectly. Therefore, the paper by Ma et al. addresses a knowledge gap by evaluating whether subtypes of fiber, and/or particular foods, are associated with the risk for diverticulitis.

60岁以上的成年人中约有60％患有憩室病，其中5％会发生憩室炎或憩室出血等并发症。在美国，每年约有30万人因憩室炎住院（Castro Gastroenterol Hepatol 2013; 11：1609-13）。尽管有这种疾病负担，但缺乏憩室炎的危险分层和预防策略。根据观察，在饮食中纤维含量通常较低的发达国家中，憩室炎的患病率明显较高，据推测，高纤维摄入量具有保护作用。但是，由于研究使用了患者报告的饮食数据并间接量化了纤维摄入量，因此难以阐明特定纤维来源与憩室炎风险之间的关系。因此，Ma等人的论文。通过评估纤维亚型和/或特定食物是否与憩室炎风险相关来解决知识鸿沟。