Prevalence of gallstones in a Brazilian population

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of galls tones in the population of Curitiba, Brazil. A total of 1000 persons was ra ndomly recruited among individuals who were visiting two shopping centers o f the city in order to represent the Brazilian population in relation to ag e and sex. The selected people underwent ultrasonographic examination of th e upper abdomen immediately after a medical interview. Of the 1000 persons evaluated, 93 (9.3%) had gallstones (64 persons) or had been subjected to c holecystectomy due to cholelithiasis. The gallstone prevalence increased fr om 2.4% in persons of 20-29 years of age to 27.5% in persons of more than 7 0 years (chi(2) = 37.29; P <0.001). The prevalence was 2.4 greater in femal es (12.9%) than in males (5.4%) (chi(2) = 16.34; P <0.001). The prevalence increased with the number of pregnancies from 4% in nulliparous women, to 3 4.6% in persons with a history of six or more pregnancies (chi(2) = 200.1; P <0,001). The prevalence also increased according to the body weight (chi( 2) = 30.08; P <0.001). There was no difference in the prevalence between in dividuals with diabetes mellitus and controls. It is concluded from this st udy that the prevalence of gallstones in the city of Curitiba is elevated.