Age is One of the Risk Factors in Developing Gallstone Disease in Taiwan

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and risk factors of gallstone disease (GSD) in Taiwan.

Design: Descriptive and cross-sectional.

Methods: A prospective ultrasonographic study of GSD was conducted in 3647 Chinese subjects who received a paid hospital physical check-up. Their demographic characteristics and biochemical parameters were recorded and compared. Ultrasonographic diagnosis revealed 2946 (M/F: 1838/1108) with normal gallbladder, 286 (M/F: 196/90) with gallbladder stones, 100 (M/F: 56/44) with previous cholecystectomy for gallstones, 243 (M/F: 174/69) with gallbladder polyps, 17 (M/F: 10/7) with mixed gallbladder stones/polyps and 35 as 'miscellaneous'. We enrolled subjects showing either gallbladder stones or cholecystectomy for gallstones in the GSD group.

Results: Excluding those subjects with mixed gallbladder stones/polyps, the overall prevalence of GSD in the studied group was 10.7%. The studied factors manifesting an increase in risk for the development of GSD were age (P<0.05), high body mass index (P< 0.05), diabetes mellitus (adjusted odds ratio: 1.998; P< 0.05) and glucose intolerance (adjusted odds ratio: 2.056; P<0.05) by multivariate analysis. Other demographic characteristics and biochemical parameters, such as body height, ABO blood type, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, lipid profiles, hepatitis B virus infection, liver function and multiparity did not show any correlation to GSD.

Conclusions: Age, high body mass index, diabetes mellitus and glucose intolerance are the risk factors for developing GSD in Taiwan.