Whats the main risk factor of gallstone disease?
Gallstone disease is a very common gastrointestinal disorder: in fact it has been documented that more than 14% of adults are, or have been, affected by this disease. Therefore, gallstones are a major public health problem, and this disorder is one of the most common and costly of all digestive disease, at least in the Wester World. In fact in terms of inpatient physician services and hospital costs, gallstone disease is by far the most costly digestive disorder, the bulk of the economic burden is mainly due to the surgery, being cholecystectomy considered the treatment of choice for symptomatic gallstones. However, since the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy into clinical practice at the end of 80s, a possible unjustified increase in surgical procedures has been observed. probably due to changes in the perceived risk-benefit ratio (for patients and physicians) and changes in surgical indications. Therefore, there is the need for more knowledge of the epidemiological charact
