Gallstones in the Metabolic Syndrome Era: Findings from a Case-Control Study

To determine the association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components with cholelithiasis in adults presenting to a tertiary care hospital.

A case-control study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of General Surgery, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), Lahore, Pakistan, from September to December 2025.

Adults of either gender, aged 18-75 years, were enrolled consecutively. Cases comprised patients with clinically suspected and ultrasonographically confirmed cholelithiasis, while controls were healthy attendants or patients presenting with conditions unrelated to gallstone disease. MetS was defined using NCEP-ATP III criteria. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, and stratification for age and gender was performed to assess their effects on the association using the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test.

A total of 120 participants were included (60 cases and 60 controls). The mean age was 45.6 ± 13.8 years in the cases and 44.4 ± 14.2 years in the controls. Among the cases, 43 (71.7%) were female, compared with 26 (43.3%) in the control group. There were 46 (76.7%) obese individuals among the cases and 27 (45.0%) among the controls. A total of 25 cases (56.8%) had MetS compared with 19 controls (46.1%). In binary logistic regression, obesity was independently associated with cholelithiasis (OR: 4.016; p = 0.001). MetS was more frequent among the cases aged <45 years (p = 0.036) and among female cases (p = 0.048).

Obesity showed a strong independent association with cholelithiasis, while MetS demonstrated subgroup-specific associations, particularly among younger adults and females.

Cholelithiasis, Gallstones, Metabolic syndrome, Obesity, Dyslipidaemia.