The future of diverticular disease research
Thank you for helping us shape the future of diverticular disease research in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
In 2023, Guts UK teamed up with medical research charity Bowel Research UK to launch a Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) into diverticular disease and diverticular-related gut conditions.
1 in 3 people will be affected by diverticular disease during their lifetime. And this number is increasing. Yet research priorities haven’t been decided…until now!
Your top 10 research priorities:
In February 2025, we took 25 questions to a final workshop where a group of patients, family members, and clinicians decided on these top ten research priorities for diverticular disease:
- What are the best ways to manage diverticular disease over the long-term?
- What are the best ways to identify, treat and manage flare-ups of diverticular disease?
- How and why do pouches (diverticula) form? Can this be prevented?
- Is there a way to identify which people will develop complications with diverticular disease?
- When is surgery the best option for people with diverticular disease, outside of emergencies?
- What is the best long-term diet for people with diverticular disease to maintain good health?
- What are the best ways to treat and manage pain in people with diverticular disease?
- What are the safest and most effective ways to treat diverticular disease using antibiotics?
- Does having a poor-quality microbiome (bad gut bacteria) increase the risk of developing diverticular disease? Could treating the microbiome reduce the risk?
- Why is diverticular disease becoming more common in younger people?
You can read the final report for the Diverticular Disease PSP here, which is provides further information about the experiences and decisions of patients, family members and healthcare professionals that led to these questions being prioritised as the top 10, as well as details of the additional 15 questions that will be considered for future research.
Guts UK has previously completed Priority Setting Partnerships (PSP) into pancreatitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). These projects helped decide the top 10 research priorities for the conditions and help inform the future research that Guts UK invests in.
You can learn more about what a PSP is and why we feel it is so crucial to fund a PSP into diverticulosis, diverticular disease and diverticulitis, diverticula and complicated diverticular here:
What is a PSP?
Priority Setting Partnerships (PSPs) bring together patients, carers, doctors, nurses, scientists, researchers, dietitians, and other health professionals, all with an equal voice. Together, they decide the top ten research priorities for their condition.
The James Lind Alliance (JLA) helps facilitate PSPs for a wide range of diseases. The purpose of a PSP is to identify and prioritise the unanswered questions for certain medical conditions, or areas of health.
What is diverticular disease?
Sometimes, pouches will form along the bowel wall. This is known as diverticulosis and most of the time, these pouches are completely harmless. However, sometimes they can cause symptoms for people, and this is referred to as diverticular disease. When these pouches become infected or inflamed, they are referred to as diverticulitis.
The condition is common, affecting between 1 in 2 and 1 in 3 people in the UK in their lifetime.
