Diet, physical activity, and gallstones - a population-based, case-controlstudy in southern Italy

Background: Gallstones are a highly prevalent condition; however, the nutri tional and lifestyle risk factors of this disease are not well understood. Objective: We evaluated the association between diet. physical activity, an d incident cases of gallstones diagnosed by ultrasound in a population-base d, case-control study. Design: One hundred patients with newly diagnosed gallstones and 290 random ly selected control subjects without gallstones were enrolled in the study. The presence of gallstones was determined by ultrasonography. Both patient s and control subjects completed a questionnaire about their usual diet and physical activity for the 12 mo before the ultrasonography. The associatio n between diet and physical activity and risk of gallstone formation was an alyzed by using multiple logistic regression. Results: Body mass index and intake of refined sugars were directly associa ted with risk of gallstone formation, whereas physical activity, dietary mo nounsaturated fats, dietary cholesterol, and dietary fibers from cellulose were inversely associated with risk of gallstone formation. Saturated fats were a risk factor for gallstone formation and the association appeared to be stronger for men than for women. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle and a diet ri ch in animal fats and refined sugars and poor in vegetable fats and fibers are significant risk factors for gallstone formation.