Demographic and Risk Factor Profile in Patients of Gallstone Disease in Central India

Abstract

Background Gallbladder stones are more common in some regions of the world than others. Gallstones that are asymptomatic might be discovered as an afterthought during a regular ultrasound scan for another abdominal ailment. The changing incidence in India is mostly due to westernization and the availability of ultrasonography in both urban and rural areas, as well as increased affordability owing to changes in the socio-economic structure and the budget of investigations. This study aims to know the prevalence of gallstone disease as well as the risk factors that contribute to its development in central India. Method A single-center, cross-sectional observational study was conducted. Seventy-two radiologically diagnosed cases of gallstone disease irrespective of age, gender, and comorbid condition were included in the study. Result Seventy-two cases of gallstone were included in the research. The highest age-specific incidence of gallstone was in the fifth and sixth decades with the maximum incidence in the sixth decade. Females had a higher incidence of gallstone formation. The pain was the earliest symptom but we found that 41.67% patients had asymptomatic gallstones. A family history of gallstone disease is found positive in 69.44% of the patients who also had an increased risk of gallstone. 22.22% patient were only diabetic, 6.95% were only hypertensive and 20.83% were both diabetic + hypertensive. Comorbidity has a high prevalence of gallstone disease. Obesity has a significant link to gallstone disease, with BMI being one of the most important indicators of obesity. Conclusion The prevalence of asymptomatic gallstones is relatively high in central India. We strongly recommend ultrasonography as a screening modality in patients with older age group, female gender, high cholesterol level, family history of gallstones, sickle cell disease, increased BMI and co-morbidities like diabetes or hypertension for early detection of gallstones formation.

Keywords: cholelithiasis; demographic; gallstones; precaution; risk factors.