Determination of Risk Factors for Cholelithiasis in Patients with Morbid Obesity

The importance of examining the factors associated with cholelithiasis is to prevent the formation of gallstones in people as much as possible so that they do not need reoperation for cholecystectomy or, if necessary, remove the gallbladder during obesity surgery and impose the reoperation risk on the patient. Therefore, the present study investigates the risk factors, precursors of gallstones, and the need for prophylactic cholecystectomy during bariatric surgery. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 150 patients who were candidates for cholecystectomy with a body mass index greater than 35 were evaluated. Cholelithiasis was evaluated based on the severity of obesity in patients. Out of 23 people who had a history of gallstones and gallbladder surgery due to stones in the past, 19 (82.6%) had a history of weight loss and 4 (17.4%) had no history of weight loss. There was no significant relationship between the history of weight loss and gallstones in candidates for obesity surgery. In addition, no significant relationship was observed between the rate of weight loss in the past and the number of attempts to lose weight and gallstones in candidates for obesity surgery. In general, in the present study, the only factor associated with cholelithiasis in the subjects was H. pylori. In fact, people with obesity who are infected with the bacterium H. pylori are positive, they are more prone to cholelithiasis than others.