RESEARCHERS have discovered a concerning new trend regarding the gut health of young people.
A new study found that the number of young people suffering from severe gut complications has risen by over 50 percent.
Between 2005 and 2020, the study conducted by researchers from UCLA and Vanderbilt University reviewed hospital admissions, interventions, and outcomes for early-onset diverticulitis.
Diverticulitis is commonly found in those over 50 years old and is caused by the inflammation or infection of pouches called diverticula.
The pouches form in the wall of the colon.
When irritated, people may experience abdominal pain, fever, and changes in bowel movements.
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Extreme cases could lead to perforation or bowel obstruction, which would require surgery.
People with diverticulitis tend to be diagnosed between the ages of 52 and 64; however, studies show that this age range is changing.
After reviewing 5.2 million hospitalizations in the National Inpatient Sample, researchers found that the proportion of patients under the age of 50 being admitted with diverticulitis complications increased form 18.5 percent to 28.2 percent.
Researchers noted that the reason for the drastic increase still remains unclear, however, lifestyle changes in younger people have a massive impact on diverticulitis.
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In 2012, a study estimated that about 40 to 53 percent of cases were inheritable, according to The Daily Mail.
However, a 2025 study found that those who may be genetically predisposed to the complication but had a low BMI, didn’t smoke, and ate nutritious foods were less likely to have the condition.
Younger patients with early-onset diverticulitis were found to have lower mortality rates and shorter hospital stays.
Conversely, younger patients were more likely to need invasive interventions.
Early-onset patients are 29 percent more likely to need a colectomy, which removes part or all of the colon.
They are also 58 percent more likely to need the area to be drained.
“While younger patients generally have better survival outcomes and shorter hospitalizations, they’re paradoxically more likely to need invasive interventions,” Lead author and fourth-year medical student at UCLA Shineui Kim wrote in the study.
“This suggests their disease may be more aggressive or that treatment approaches differ based on patient age and overall health status.”
Kim noted that more research needs to urgently be conducted to investigate the cause of the rise in early-onset diverticulitis.