Diverticular disease in an indigenous African community

Sixteen cases of diverticular disease of the colon occurring in an urban hospital in Ghana are described. Ten of the patients had diffuse diverticulosis affecting the greater part of the colon. Apart from a high incidence of presentation with rectal bleeding the disease shows no particular differences in manifestation from what is encountered in the advanced countries. Sixty per cent of the patients belonged to the higher social classes, but all had lived on traditional African high-residue food. Other factors as yet unknown may contribute to the pathogenesis of this disorder.