The Prevalence of Gallbladder Stones is Higher Among Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease in Taiwan

The pathogenesis of gallstone disease is multifactorial. Few studies have focused on gallbladder stones in the chronic kidney disease population in Taiwan. We conducted the current study to determine the prevalence of gallbladder stones in populations with and without chronic kidney disease. This was a hospital-based, cross-sectional study. We retrospectively analyzed the patients receiving periodic health examinations at I medical center in Taiwan from 2001 to 2004. In all, 4773 patients were enrolled in the study Chronic kidney disease was defined as a glomerular filtration rate less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were expressed using a multivariate logistic regression analysis. We studied 2686 men (56.3%) and 2087 women (43.7%). The mean age was 49.1 +/- 12.2 years (range, 20-87 yr). The prevalence of gallbladder stones was 13.1% in the group of patients with chronic kidney disease and 4.9% in the group of patients without chronic kidney disease (p < 0.001). After controlling for the other covariates, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increasing age (aged 40-64 yr vs. 20-39 yr, OR = 3.06, 95% CI = 1.81-5.15; and >= 65 yr vs. 20-39 yr, OR = 6.13, 95% CI = 3.42-10.98), chronic kidney disease (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.01-2.47), body mass index >= 27 kg/m(2) (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.02-1.91), metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.08-1.94), and cirrhosis (OR = 4.23, 95% CI = 1.25-14.29) were significantly related to gallbladder stone disease. The prevalence of gallbladder stones in patients with chronic kidney disease is significantly higher than in those without chronic kidney disease. Our findings suggest that increasing age, chronic kidney disease, body mass index >= 27 kg/m(2), metabolic syndrome, and cirrhosis are the related factors for gallbladder stone formation.