The association between gallstone disease and plaques of abdominopelvic arteries

The aim of this study was to assess the atheromatous plaque, in the abdominopelvic arteries as a marker of cardiac risk in patients with or without gallstone disease (GD).
A total of 136 patients were enrolled in this cross‑sectional study. Forty‑eight patients had GD and the remaining 88 patients did not. The presence or absence of gallstones was noted during abdominal ultrasonography while vascular risk factors such as plaque formation, intima‑media thickness, plaque calcification, mural thrombus, stenosis, aneurysm, and inflammation were recorded during an abdominopelvic computed tomography scan. In addition, percentage of the abdominopelvic aorta surface covered by atheromatous plaque was calculated.
The mean age of patients with GD and without GD was 50.81 ± 16.20 and 50.40 ± 12.43, respectively. Patients with GD were more likely to have diabetes mellitus, a higher body mass index (BMI) (P  We demonstrated a direct relationship between GD and abdominopelvic atheromatous plaque, which is a marker for increased cardiovascular risk, for the first time in the literature. Patients with GD exhibit greater abdominopelvic atherosclerosis and therefore, have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.