Background & Aims: Gallbladder disease is one of the most common conditions
in the United States, but its true prevalence is unknown. A national popul
ation-based survey was performed to determine the age, sex, and ethnic dist
ribution of gallbladder disease in the United States. Methods: The third Na
tional Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) conducted gallb
ladder ultrasonography among a representative U.S. sample of more than 14,0
00 persons. The diagnosis of gallbladder disease by detection of gallstones
or cholecystectomy was made with-excellent reproducibility. Results: An es
timated 6.3 million men and 14.2 million women aged 20-74 years had gallbla
dder disease. Age-standardized prevalence was similar for non-Hispanic whit
e (8.6%) and Mexican American (8.9%) men, and both were higher than non-His
panic black men (5.3%). These relationships persisted with multivariate adj
ustment. Among women, age-adjusted prevalence was highest for Mexican Ameri
cans (26.7%) followed by non-Hispanic whites (16.6%) and non-Hispanic black
s (13.9%). Among women, multivariate adjustment reduced the risk of gallbla
dder disease for both Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic blacks compared wi
th non-Hispanic whites. Conclusions: More than 20 million persons have gall
bladder disease in the United States. Ethnic differences in gallbladder dis
ease prevalence differed according to sex and were only partly explained by
known risk factors.