Colorectal polyps in the Upper Galilee

This study of colorectal polyps is based on 129 patients in whom 241 colorectal polyps were diagnosed and excised by colonoscopy in the Gastroenterology Unit of a hospital in the Upper Galilee, Israel, between 1 July 1984 and 30 June 1987. The male:female ratio was 2:1. Anemia was demonstrated in 7% and positive Hemoccult II test (Smith Kline, USA) in 64%. The types of polyp were 58% adenomatous, 25% hyperplastic and 15% inflammatory. Adenomatous polyps were larger than the other types (chi 2 = 13.24, P less than 0.01), and were more frequent in the left colon than inflammatory polyps (chi 2 = 4.67, P less than 0.05). The annual incidence of colorectal polyps and the percentage of colonoscopies that revealed polyps were highest for Jews of European/American origin (5.3/10,000, 26%) compared with Jews of Israeli and Asian/African origin and Arabs (2/10,000, 6%; 1.3/10,000, 12%; and 1/10,000, 9%, respectively). These data confirm findings of other investigators showing a higher incidence of colorectal polyps in European/American Jews than in other ethnic Israeli groups.