Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2017 Mar;96(13):e6477.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000006477.

Sex differences in prevalence and risk factors of asymptomatic cholelithiasis in Korean health screening examinee: A retrospective analysis of a multicenter study

Sung Bum Kim  1 , Kook Hyun Kim, Tae Nyeun Kim, Jun Heo, Min Kyu Jung, Chang Min Cho, Yoon Suk Lee, Kwang Bum Cho, Dong Wook Lee, Ji Min Han, Ho Gak Kim, Hyun Soo Kim
Affiliations
Observational Study

Sex differences in prevalence and risk factors of asymptomatic cholelithiasis in Korean health screening examinee: A retrospective analysis of a multicenter study

Sung Bum Kim et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Mar.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate sex difference in the prevalence and risk factors for asymptomatic cholelithiasis in Korean health screening examinees.Examinees who underwent examination through health promotion center at 5 hospitals of Daegu-Gyeongbuk province in 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. All examinees were checked for height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure, and underwent laboratory tests and abdominal ultrasound. Diagnosis of cholelithiasis was made by ultrasound.Of the total of 30,544 examinees, mean age was 47.3 ± 10.9 years and male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Asymptomatic cholelithiasis was diagnosed in 1268 examinees with overall prevalence of 4.2%. In age below 40 years, females showed higher prevalence of asymptomatic cholelithiasis than males (2.7% vs. 1.9%, P = 0.020), whereas prevalence of asymptomatic cholelithiasis was higher in males than females older than 50 years (6.2% vs. 5.1%, P = 0.012). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed age (≥50 years), obesity, and high blood pressure as risk factors for asymptomatic cholelithiasis in males and age, obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, and chronic hepatitis B infection in females (P < 0.05).Overall prevalence of asymptomatic cholelithiasis was 4.2% in Korean health screening examinees. Females showed higher prevalence of asymptomatic cholelithiasis than males younger than 40 years, whereas it was higher in males older than 50 years. Age and obesity were risk factors for asymptomatic cholelithiasis in both sexes. Males had additional risk factors of high blood pressure and females had hypertriglyceridemia and chronic hepatitis B infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sex difference in the prevalence of asymptomatic cholelithiasis according to age.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of asymptomatic cholelithiasis according to age groups and sex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Korean National health insurance—National sample cohort.(2007–2012).
    1. Shaffer EA. Gallstone disease: epidemiology of gallbladder stone disease. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 2006;20:981–96. - PubMed
    1. Maurer KR, Everhart JE, Ezzati TM, et al. Prevalence of gallstone disease in Hispanic populations in the United States. Gastroenterology 1989;96:487–92. - PubMed
    1. Chen CH, Huang MH, Yang JC, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of gallstone disease in an adult population of Taiwan: an epidemiological survey. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2006;21:1737–43. - PubMed
    1. Sun H, Tang H, Jiang S, et al. Gender and metabolic differences of gallstone diseases. World J Gastroenterol 2009;15:1886–91. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types