Increased risk of symptomatic gallbladder disease in adults with Down syndrome

Previous reports have documented an increased prevalence of asymptomatic cholelithiasis among children with Down syndrome. Whether this predisposes adults with Down syndrome to symptomatic gallbladder disease has not been studied. A case control study compared the rate of symptomatic gallbladder disease in 28 index cases of adults with Down syndrome and that of sex-matched controls. The rate of gallbladder disease was 25% among the Down syndrome group, compared to 4.5% among the control group (P = 0.002). Patients with Down syndrome were also more likely to have a family medical history of gallbladder disease. Utilizing logistic regression analysis, the adjusted relative risk for gallbladder disease among individuals with Down syndrome was 3.52.