Prevalence and metabolic correlates of gallbladder stones among community-dwelling older adults in Chongqing, China: a repeated cross-sectional study, 2018-2025.

Authors

Yi Zeng, Hui Wu, Jingzhi Zhong

Published in

BMC gastroenterology. Jul 14, 2026. Epub Jul 14, 2026.

Abstract

Gallstone disease is a common biliary disorder and an important source of morbidity in older adults. However, evidence on the burden and metabolic correlates of gallbladder stones among older adults undergoing community-based health examinations in China remains limited. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of gallbladder stones and identify associated metabolic factors in older adults undergoing community health examinations in Chongqing, China.
In this repeated cross-sectional study, we analyzed annual health examination records from community-dwelling adults aged 60 years or older in Chongqing, China, from 2018 to 2025. Data were obtained from the Health Examination Center of the Second People's Hospital of Yubei District, Chongqing. Gallbladder stones were identified using abdominal ultrasonography. Participants with previous cholecystectomy, absent gallbladder, or unavailable gallbladder findings were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate demographic and metabolic factors associated with gallbladder stones.
A total of 72,040 eligible examination records were included in the primary record-level analysis, of which 6,120 had ultrasonographically detected gallbladder stones, yielding an overall record-level prevalence of 8.50%. Gallstone prevalence increased with age, from 7.44% in participants aged 60-69 years to 8.49% in those aged 70-79 years and 10.15% in those aged 80 years or older. Women had a higher prevalence than men (9.21% vs. 7.63%). In multivariable analysis, older age (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.020 per year, 95% CI 1.016-1.024), diabetes (1.306, 1.226-1.392), hypertension (1.168, 1.106-1.234), hypertriglyceridaemia (1.126, 1.061-1.195), low HDL cholesterol (1.076, 1.002-1.155), and fatty liver (1.442, 1.363-1.526) were independently associated with higher odds of gallbladder stones, whereas male sex was associated with lower odds than female sex (0.825, 0.781-0.871). Crude annual record-level prevalence fluctuated modestly from 2018 to 2025, without a clear monotonic increase.
Gallbladder stones are common among community-dwelling older adults in Chongqing and are closely associated with adverse metabolic profiles, particularly fatty liver and diabetes. These findings suggest that ultrasonographically detected gallbladder stones in later life are associated with a broader hepatometabolic risk profile and may inform future studies of risk stratification and community-based screening strategies.

PMID:
42443768
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 14 Jul 2026.

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