The Association Between the C-Reactive Protein-Albumin-Lymphocyte Index and Gallstone Disease: A Cross-Sectional...

Area of Science:

• Biomarkers
• Gastroenterology
• Public Health

Background:

• Gallstones pose a significant health burden.
• Novel biomarkers are needed for early risk identification.
• The C-reactive protein-albumin-lymphocyte (CALLY) index is a new potential indicator.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between the CALLY index and gallstone risk.
• To evaluate the predictive performance of the CALLY index against other inflammatory markers.
• To explore potential mediating factors in the CALLY index-gallstone relationship.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of NHANES data (2017-2020).
• Multivariable logistic regression and restricted cubic splines (RCS) for association and non-linearity.
• Subgroup, mediation (Conicity, LAP, ABSI), and ROC curve analyses were performed.

Main Results:

• The highest CALLY index quartile was associated with significantly lower gallstone risk (OR 0.56).
• RCS confirmed a linear inverse correlation between CALLY index and gallstone risk.
• CALLY index demonstrated superior predictive performance (AUC=0.604) compared to SII, SIRI, and AISI.

Conclusions:

• A significant inverse association exists between the CALLY index and gallstone prevalence.
• The CALLY index shows promise as an objective biomarker for early gallstone risk assessment.
• The Conicity index emerged as a significant mediator in this association.