Appendicitis epidemic?

[beth_leonard]

As of last weekend the fourth person I've known personally has had their appendix out in the last 18 months. In the previous 10 years I think I've only known one person to have appendicitis. These people have ranged in age from 16 to 51, so I don't feel it's just my generation of friends aging. Two of the people I see on a weekly basis, one several times a year, and the other at least yearly.

Is this just a coincidence? Or is appendicitis on the rise? If it is on the rise, how would I find out? What could be causing it? Share your appendicitis stories here. Is it going up recently? Or are cases of people you've known evenly distributed in your past?

--Beth