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Gallstone Disease and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Cameron J Fairfield1, Stephen J Wigmore2, Ewen M Harrison2

  • 1Department of Clinical Surgery, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4SA, UK. cameron.fairfield@ed.ac.uk.

Scientific Reports
|April 11, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Gallstone disease (GD) is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. This meta-analysis of over 1.2 million people confirms a significant association between gallstones and CVD in both sexes.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Gallstone disease (GD) is a common surgical condition.
  • Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality and economic burden.
  • Shared risk factors exist between GD and CVD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct a meta-analysis assessing the relationship between gallstone disease and cardiovascular disease.
  • To evaluate the association between gallstone disease and fatal/non-fatal CVD events.
  • To explore the impact of cholecystectomy on the GD-CVD association.

Main Methods:

  • Meta-analysis of fourteen cohort studies.
  • Inclusion of over 1.2 million participants.
  • Random-effects model to calculate pooled hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Main Results:

  • A significant association was found between gallstone disease and fatal/non-fatal CVD events (HR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.16-1.30).
  • This association was observed in both females and males.
  • Cholecystectomy showed a potentially stronger association with CVD (HR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.21-1.64) compared to GD without surgery (HR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.07-1.58), though confounding is noted.

Conclusions:

  • Gallstone disease is significantly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease events.
  • The association between gallstone disease and cardiovascular disease is present in both sexes.
  • Further research is required to clarify the influence of cholecystectomy on this association.

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