Gall bladder disease in Trinidad

ABSTRACT

In Trinidad, cholecystectomy is now the most common elective intra-abdominal operation performed by the general surgeon. A review of 220 patients shows that gall bladder disease affects our population at a much younger age (average 43.8 years) than that reported for Caucasians in the United Kingdom, United States and Sweden. The female to male ratio (8.61) is one of the highest reported. There is no race predisposition to the disease, which is evenly distributed between the two major ethnic groups represented in the population. In this population, first pregnancy at an early age and multiparity seem to be the important factors which predispose the young female to cholelithiasis.(AU)