Association between Betel Nut and Presence of Diverticulum in Male: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Wei-Liang Chen,Yu-Hong Liu

doi:10.1155/2021/6669792

Abstract

Although several studies have reported the multiple systemic effects of betel nut (BN) chewing, analyses performed on the colonic system have been few. To analyze the association between BN chewing and diverticulosis, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 5,586 eligible participants who underwent colonoscopy at a medical center in Taiwan from 2010 to 2016. BN chewing was recorded based on an assessment of personal history. Diverticulosis was categorized based on whether colonoscopies had been performed during health examinations by trained physicians at Tri-Service General Hospital. The association between different exposures, including cigarette, alcohol, BN, and diverticulosis, was also analyzed. Our study included 3,161 males and 2,425 females, and males have significantly higher prevalence rates of BN chewing than females (11.1% versus 0.3%, respectively). In the male group, BN chewing had an adjusted odd ratio (OR): 1.65(95% confident interval (CI): 1.12–2.44) with the presence of diverticulosis. Among the combination of exposures of cigarette, alcohol, and BN, the group with BN chewing combined with smoking and drinking showed significant association between diverticulosis with adjusted OR: 1.909 (95% CI, 1.188–3.065). Further subgroup analysis displayed adjusted OR: 2.310 (95% CI, 1.245–4.287) in obesity and OR: 2.406 (95% CI, 1.205–4.803) in elderly male. Thus, BN chewing is independently associated with diverticulosis in male.

Highlights

Betel nut (BN), known as the areca nut, is the seed of the areca palm (Areca catechu), which grows throughout much of the tropical
A prominently higher prevalence of alcohol drinking, BN chewing, and cigarette use was observed in the male population than in the female population
To better understand how much BN chewing influences the presence of diverticulum, our subgroup analysis found that BN chewing maintained a strong link with diverticulosis based on the associated factors of being in the high-risk group, of older age, and of being clinically obese [15]

Summary

Introduction

Betel nut (BN), known as the areca nut, is the seed of the areca palm (Areca catechu), which grows throughout much of the tropical. 700 million people in the Pacific region, Southeast and South Asia, and parts of Africa have a habit of chewing BN, and most of them lived in AsiaPacific regions where the A. catechu tree grows [1]. BN was thought to be a group 1 carcinogen in humans, and in 2004, it was linked to multiple cancers of the digestive system, such as oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, liver, and biliary tract cancer [4]. Despite the strong link between BN and oral cancer, in recent studies, multiple systemic effects among people who chew BN were reported. In a Bangladeshi population-based prospective study, Heck et al found that chewing BN without tobacco was associated with general hypertension (odds ratio (OR), 1.48; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–2.10) [5]. In a study comprising 1,986 participants, Guh et al presented a metabolic syndrome associated with a BN consumption rate

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion