Correlation Between Serum Iron Level and Cholesterol Stone in Cholelithiasis.

Anshu Atreya; Bikal Ghimire; Pradeep Vaidya

Volume : VII, Issue : XI, November - 2018

Correlation Between Serum Iron Level and Cholesterol Stone in Cholelithiasis.

Anshu Atreya, Bikal Ghimire, Pradeep Vaidya

Abstract :

Background: The old axiom that a typical gallstone carrier is a fat, fertile, flatulent, female in forties is only partially true as the disease has been found in women soon after their first delivery and also in underweight, thin people and in fetal life. Age, sex, obesity parity, socioeconomic status, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and built of individual are significant factors related with the disease. In recent times role of serum iron has also been considered to be one of the important factors in the formation of gallstones. The present work has been mainly taken up with a view to study the relationship between the cholesterol gallbladder stones with serum iron level.

Material and Method: In this prospective study, 80 patients with cholelithiasis were studied during a study period of one year (June 2009 to May 2010) in General Surgery unit, Department of Surgery, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal. Patients were categorized based on serum iron level into low, normal and high serum iron group and bile/serum cholesterol ratio was compared for each category of the patient.

Result: Of the eighty patients studied, 14 patients were male and 66 females. Three patients with serum iron level <40 �g/dl were categorized into category 1 (low iron), 76 in category 2 (normal iron) and one in category 3 (high iron). The difference in mean age and mean serum cholesterol level in the three categories was not significant statistically (p value 0.501 and 0.065 respectively). However, the difference of bile/serum cholesterol ratio among the three categories was statistically significant (p value of 0.006).

Discussion:The present study shows that the gall bladder bile cholesterol level was significantly higher in the low serum iron category, as compared to that of the normal or high serum iron category patients. Further, no significant variation in the serum cholesterol values was detected between the three categories.

Conclusion: The study suggests that decreased serum iron level plays a significant role in the super saturation of gallbladder bile with cholesterol and may act as an independent factor in formation of cholesterol gallstones.