The association between diabetes and gallstones: a nationwide population-based cohort study

Evidence regarding the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and cholelithiasis is still inconsistent.

To examine the association between diabetes and gallstones and the commonly associated factors in a nationwide population-based cohort investigation.

The demographic and outcome variable data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database for the years 2017-2018.

A total of 5376 individuals were included in the final analysis, with a mean age of 51.3 ±17.8 years. Females constituted 51.5% of the included individuals, and the overall mean body mass index (BMI) was 29.8 ±7.4 kg/m². The prevalence of diabetes was 16.2% among the included individuals, with a mean age of 50.6 ±13.6 years at diagnosis of diabetes, and only 4.5% were taking insulin. The prevalence of cholelithiasis was 11.2%, with a mean age of 44.4 ±16.1 years at diagnosis, and 11.3% had previous cholecystectomy (gallbladder surgery.) There was a significant increase in gallstone rates among diabetic patients as compared to non-diabetics in the unadjusted (OR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.89-2.79; p < 0.001) and adjusted (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.20-1.92; p < 0.001) models. Moreover, this association was not time-dependent where the "age when first told you had diabetes" did not show a significant influence on the gallstone rate, whether in unadjusted (OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00-1.02; p = 0.221) or adjusted (OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.99-1.03; p = 0.395) models. Furthermore, insulin usage was found to be a significant predictor of cholelithiasis, whether in unadjusted (OR = 2.39; 95% CI: 1.74-3.28; p < 0.001) or adjusted (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.05-2.19; p = 0.026) models.

DM and insulin therapy are possible risk factors for developing cholelithiasis.