Cancer, heart disease links to gallbladder

People who have gallstones or who've had their gallbladders removed are at increased risk of death from heart disease and cancer, a new study has found.

The finding marks the first time medical scientists have studied the general U.S. population for long-term consequences linked to gallbladder disease.

More than 25 million Americans have the disease, which is most common among obese adults and affects women more often than men.

The study examined the medical records of 14,645 people diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 74.

Following patients for as long as 18 years after diagnosis, researchers found gallstone disease increased the risk of dying from heart disease by 50 percent and cancer by 30 percent, according to lead investigator Dr. James Everhart of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

The study is published in this week's issue of the journal Gastroenterology.

"This is a fascinating study," said Dr. David Bernstein, chief of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Manhasset, who was not connected with the research.

Bernstein called the links to heart disease and cancer "an interesting association" that makes sense to him.

"It's vital for people to realize the importance of a healthy diet and exercise, and the consequences of what can happen," he said.

He also stressed that gallbladder patients shouldn't fear the worst.

"People shouldn't panic because they have gallstones and think they will develop heart disease or cancer," he said.

Gallstones are cholesterol-containing pebbles in the gallbladder, a small hollow organ that stores bile produced by the liver.

Over time, the cholesterol-laced stones can so irrevocably clog the organ that surgical removal is necessary. One in every two diagnoses of gallstones results in removal of the organ, federal statistics show.

Cholesterol, Everhart noted, is the culprit shared by gallstones and plaque that plugs arteries.

But Dr. Satish Nagula, director of endoscopy at Stony Brook University Medical Center, said obesity is the overwhelming factor that links problems associated with gallbladder disease to cardiovascular conditions and cancer.

Many questions involving the relationship between cholesterol and gallstones have not yet been answered, Nagula said.

"There is cholesterol in gallstones, but no one has ever proven that high cholesterol leads to increased gallstones," he said.

"Right, now to the best of our knowledge, there is a connection between having your gallbladder removed and heart disease. So I think it's important to look at the important underlying issue of both problems and that is the issue of obesity."