Abstract
Introduction Diverticular disease and anxiety disorders are common in the general population. Prior research on diverticular disease showed that these patients have an increased frequency of anxiety and depression. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) on the outcomes of adult patients admitted with acute diverticulitis. Methods Using the National Inpatient Sample database from the year 2014 and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9 CM) codes, acute diverticulitis patients were selected. The outcomes of diverticulitis patients with and without GAD were explored. The outcomes of interest included inpatient mortality, hypotension/shock, acute respiratory failure, acute hepatic failure, sepsis, intestinal abscess, intestinal obstruction, myocardial infarction, acute renal failure, and colectomy. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine if GAD is an independent predictor for the outcomes. Results Among 77,520 diverticulitis patients in the study, 8,484 had comorbid GAD. GAD was identified as a risk factor for intestinal obstruction (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.22, 95% CI: 1.05-1.43, p<0.05), and intestinal abscess (aOR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.10-1.29, p<0.05). GAD was found to be a protective factor for hypotension/shock (aOR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.76-0.91, p<0.05) and acute respiratory failure (aOR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.62-0.93, p<0.05). The aORs of sepsis, inpatient mortality, myocardial infarction, acute renal failure, and colectomy were not statistically significant. Conclusions Patients with acute diverticulitis who are also diagnosed with GAD are at increased risk for intestinal obstruction and intestinal abscess, which may be due to the influence GAD has on the gut microbiota as well as the impact of GAD pharmacotherapy on gut motility. There was also a decreased risk for acute respiratory failure and hypotension/shock appreciated in the GAD cohort which may be attributable to the elevated healthcare resource utilization seen generally in GAD patients, which may allow for presentation to the emergency department, hospitalization, and treatment earlier in the diverticulitis disease course.