Libyan Journal of Medicine (Jan 2009)
Prevalence of gall bladder stones among type 2 diabetic patients in Benghazi Libya: a case-control study
Abstract
Background: Diabetes mellitus and gall bladder stones are both common and costly diseases.Increasing age, female gender, overweight, familial history of the disease and type 2 diabetes mellitusis all associated with an increased risk of gallstones. Several studies from around the world reportedan increased prevalence of gall bladder stones in patients with diabetes mellitus. Aims andobjectives: The aim of this study was to define the frequency of gall bladder stones among Libyandiabetics and to evaluate the possible associated risk factors in these patients. Patients andmethods: A case-control study was performed during 2007 at Benghazi Diabetes and endocrinologyCenter. The study involved 161 randomly selected type-2 diabetic patients under regular follow up atthe center, and 166 age and sex matched non-diabetic outpatients at the 7th of October teachinghospital. Real-time abdominal ultrasound was performed by two radiologists to examine the abdomenafter an overnight fast. Results: About 40% of the diabetic cohort had gall bladder stones ascompared to 17.5% of non-diabetic patients. Females were significantly more affected than males.Patients with gall bladder stones were significantly older and had a significantly higher body massindex than those without stones. Conclusion: The prevalence of gallstones in Libyan diabeticpatients is higher than the rates reported in other parts of the world. Libyan diabetic patients withgallstones tend to be older and more obese than those without gallstones. Duration of diabetesmellitus and type of treatment does not seem to influence the frequency of gall bladder stones amongLibyan diabetics.
