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Health See other Health Articles Title: Gallstones Becoming More Common in Obese Youth August 27, 2012 — The incidence of pediatric gallstone disease is increasing as more minority children are diagnosed with extreme childhood obesity. Pediatricians should be aware that they may now be seeing a disease that was previously limited to adults. Corinna Koebnick, PhD, and colleagues from Kaiser Permanente in California presented the results of a population-based cross-sectional study in an article published in the September issue of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition. The large multiethnic cohort of southern California children and adolescents included almost 16% of the Kaiser Permanente service area in southern California. A diagnosis of gallstone disease was based on electronic health record reports of 510,816 children aged 10 to 19 years. A manual chart review was performed on approximately 400 patients. The electronic health records do not include drugs such as oral contraceptives that may be dispensed by organizations such as the California family planning program. The study found that 7.3% of boys and 5.5% of girls younger than 20 years are extremely obese. Children who were overweight had twice the incidence of gallstone disease as children who had a normal body mass index. The adjusted odds ratio for gallstones for extreme obesity was 3.10 for boys (95% confidence interval, 1.99 - 4.83) and 7.71 in girls (95% confidence interval, 6.13 - 9.71). Adjustments were made for sex, race/ethnicity, age group, and low education. Hispanic youth had more gallstones than youth of other races and ethnicities. A previous retrospective study found that there was a higher prevalence of obesity in girls (aged 14 to 20 years) with gallstones than in the general population. Gallstone disease affects an estimated 20 million adults in the United States. Gallstones can block the passage of bile into the intestine, and if left untreated, the condition can be fatal. Adult studies have identified racial and ethnic disparities in gallstone disease. In addition, obesity has been established as a risk factor for gallstone disease in adults. Gallstones affect more women than men, and the association between obesity and gallstones is stronger in women than men. The current study found a stronger association between obesity and gallstones in girls than boys. A woman's risk for gallstone disease is also increased by exposure to exogenous estrogen. The association between oral contraceptive use and gallstone disease, however, is weak. Research funding was provided by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders and Kaiser Permanente Direct Community Benefit Fund. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2012;55:328-333. Abstract Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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