Between 10 and 20 percent of all adults above 40 have gall stones, however, only one to three percent of them are complaining about the symptoms. Gall stones occur in almost 25% of women in the age of 60 and up to 50% at the age of 75 and above. About 20% of men have gall stones until the age of 75 years. Gall stone disease is relatively rare in children. Women have probably greater risk because estrogen stimulates the liver to remove more cholesterol from the blood and directs it into the bile. It is more likely that pregnant women with stones have symptoms. Increased risk of gall stones has been noticed in women taking oral contraceptives and in those who use estrogen replacement therapy after menopause.
It is more likely to develop gall stones in men and women with excessive body weight or obese and those who take food with lots of saturated fat and refined sugar. Variations in body weight (weight loss and then return of the weight) also increase the risk of bile stones. Drugs for lowering cholesterol reduce blood cholesterol levels by increasing the amount that is excreted in bile, which increases the risk of bile stones. Other risk factors that reduce the flow of bile and thus increase the risk of gall stones include starvation, pregnancy, and intravenous nutrition. Cirrhosis is a great risk for gall stones, especially the pigment ones. Gallbladder disease may progress faster in patients with diabetes, which usually suffer from severe infections.
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