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Risk factors for gallstones include birth control pills, pregnancy, a family history of gallstones, obesity, diabetes, liver disease, or rapid weight loss. [4] Occasionally, acute cholecystitis occurs as a result of vasculitis or chemotherapy, or during recovery from major trauma or burns. [9]
The absence of such risk factors does not, however, preclude the formation of gallstones. Nutritional factors that may increase risk of gallstones include constipation; eating fewer meals per day; low intake of the nutrients folate, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin C; [23] low fluid consumption; [24] and, at least for men, a high intake of ...
Gallstones are thought to be linked to the formation of cancer. Other risk factors include large (>1 cm) gallbladder polyps and having a highly calcified "porcelain" gallbladder. [21] Cancer of the gallbladder can cause attacks of biliary pain, yellowing of the skin , and weight loss. A large gallbladder may be able to be felt in the abdomen.
Gallbladder diseases are diseases involving the gallbladder and is closely linked to biliary disease, with the most common cause being gallstones (cholelithiasis). [1] [2]The gallbladder is designed to aid in the digestion of fats by concentrating and storing the bile made in the liver and transferring it through the biliary tract to the digestive system through bile ducts that connect the ...
In the developed world, 10 to 15% of adults have gallstones. [3] Of those with gallstones, biliary colic occurs in 1 to 4% each year. [3] Nearly 30% of people have further problems related to gallstones in the year following an attack. [3] About 15% of people with biliary colic eventually develop inflammation of the gallbladder if not treated. [3]
Gallstones are very common but 50–80% of people with gallstones are asymptomatic and do not need surgery; their stones are noticed incidentally on imaging tests of the abdomen (such as ultrasound or CT) done for some other reason. [8] The traditional risk factors for gallstones are the four “F's: female, fat, forty, and fertile. [9]
Other indicators include raised indicators of ampulla of vater (pancreatic duct obstruction) such as lipases and amylases. In prolonged cases the international normalized ratio (INR) may change due to a decrease in vitamin K absorption. (It is the decreased bile flow which reduces fat breakdown and therefore absorption of fat soluble vitamins).
The clinical course of biliary sludge can do one of three things: (1) it can resolve completely, (2) wax and wane, or (3) progress to gallstones. [1] [2] [3] If the biliary sludge has a cause (e.g. pregnancy), it oftentimes is resolved when the underlying cause is removed. [3]