Differences in the Impact of Obesity and Metabolic Unhealthiness on the Risk of Gallbladder Polyp

Differences in the impact of obesity and metabolic health status on the risk of gallbladder polyp (GBP) remain uncertain. Herein, we aimed to compare the risk of GBP ≥5 mm among individuals with different phenotypes based on obesity and metabolic health status.

A cohort of 253485 asymptomatic adults who underwent abdominal ultrasonography screening were categorized into the following four groups according to obesity and metabolic health status: 1) metabolically healthy non-obese (MHNO), 2) metabolically unhealthy and non-obese (MUNO), 3) metabolically healthy but obese (MHO), and 4) metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO).

The prevalences of GBP ≥5 mm were 2.4%, 3.1%, 3.7%, and 4.0% in the MHNO, MUNO, MHO, and MUO groups, respectively. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (OR) values for prevalence of GBP ≥5 mm by comparing the MUNO, MHO, and MUO with the MHNO group were 1.11 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-1.19], 1.30 (95% CI, 1.15-1.47), and 1.37 (95% CI, 1.28-1.45), respectively. The risk of GBP ≥5 mm in the MHO group was significantly higher than that in the MUNO group, but not significantly different from that in the MUO group.

Obesity and metabolic unhealthiness appear to be independent risk factors for the prevalence of GBP, and the impact of obesity is greater than that of metabolic unhealthiness, suggesting that maintaining both normal weight and metabolic health may help reduce the risk of GBP.