INCREASING GALLSTONE PREVALENCE AND CHOLECYSTECTOMY RATE IN A LARGE ROMANIAN TOWN - A NECROPSY STUDY

To study whether the increasing prevalence of gallstone disease noted in a 100-year interval in a large Romanian town has continued in recen t years, we analyzed ail necropsies (5234) performed during 10 years ( 1983-1992) in Cluj-Napoca. Gallstone disease (GD) was defined as the p resence of stones or the absence of the gallbladder due to cholecystec tomy. The results obtained were compared to those of the previous 10-y ear period (1973-1982). We found a significant increase of GD both in men (6.9% to 9.8%) (P < 0.001) and women (17.1% to 21.7%) (P < 0.001). The ratio of women to men with GD decreased as compared to the first time period (1.4/1 vs 1.8/1). The actual age-standardized prevalence o f GD was higher than that calculated for the first time period: 7.6% i n men (5.0% in 1973-1982) and 16.9% in women (8.4% in 1973-1982) (P > 0.001). The necropsy cholecystectomy rate rose markedly; 42.1% of the GD men and 43.0% of the GD women had undergone operation during their life. The present study indicates a higher prevalence of GD in the Rom anian town than previously found. The actual prevalence is comparable with that of other central European countries, but it is less than tha t found in England, Scotland, or Sweden.