miscellaneous factors
Last reviewed 01/2018
Miscellaneous factors that predispose an individual to mixed and cholesterol gallstones include:
- race - incidence in caucasians is twice that in blacks
- age and sex - in general, the incidence increases with age. Before puberty, the incidence is approximately equal between the sexes. From puberty to menopause, women show a greater incidence than men, but the discrepancy decreases after the menopause
- parity - incidence of stones higher in multiparous women
- diet - cholesterol-rich foods include dairy products and red meat
- drugs:
- increased secretion of cholesterol by the liver - for example, fibrate
- complication of octreotide therapy; this is a somatostatin analogue used to treat patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours and acromegaly