Relationship of Gallbladder Disease to Parity, Obesity, and Age: A Study of 62,739 Weight-Conscious Women

A study was made of the interrelationships between gallbladder disease and obesity, age, and parity in more than 62,000 weight-conscious women who were members of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). The results, based on perhaps the largest sample of its kind, show no support for the alliterative descr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health services reports 1973-12, Vol.88 (10), p.925-936
Main Authors: Ronald A. Bernstein, Werner, Linda H., Rimm, Alfred A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age groups
Epidemiology
Gallbladder
Gallbladder diseases
Gender equality
Obesity
Predisposing factors
Questionnaires
Urinary bladder diseases
Vivipary
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Summary:A study was made of the interrelationships between gallbladder disease and obesity, age, and parity in more than 62,000 weight-conscious women who were members of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). The results, based on perhaps the largest sample of its kind, show no support for the alliterative description of the typical gallbladder patient as a "fat, fertile female of forty". The overall occurrence rate of gallbladder disease was calculated to be 15.7 per hundred for the entire sample. This population showed a relatively constant incidence of this disease over the decades of life; no increase occurred during the forties. A trend toward increasing incidence with increasing obesity and parity was apparent only for the younger age groups. Obesity appeared to be the single factor having the greatest effect on the incidence of gallbladder disease. The results indicate that TOPS women with gallbladder disease were heavier and had more children than those women without disease. These women also had a high incidence of gallbladder disease at early ages.
ISSN:0090-2918
DOI:10.2307/4594955