Abstract
Objective: “Fat fertile forty females” have historically been linked to gallstones (GS). Yet, young, impoverished, multiparous females in Pakistan frequently appear to have GS. The goal of this research was to ascertain the impact of insufficient food intake on females’ frequency of GS and gallbladder (GB) stasis after childbirth.
Methods: At Mayo Hospital in Lahore, this research was carried out. Women who had normal childbirth were assessed six weeks after giving birth. The patient had a thorough medical assessment, anthropometric measures, nutritional analysis, and laboratory testing. Following a typical fatty food, an ultrasound was performed to determine if GS, sludge, and the fraction of ejection were present. The same methodology was used to evaluate 22 female participants who were in the same age range.
Results: The average age of the cases in research including 81 people was determined to be 25.6 years, with a standard variation of 3 years. The research examined several variables between volunteers and postpartum women (PPW). The mean fasting gallbladder (GB) volume, gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF), and residual gallbladder volume after 60 minutes were all considerably greater in postpartum women than in volunteers (p-value < 0.001). The average body mass index (BMI) of postpartum women with GB standstill was found to be 21.4 with a standard deviation of 3.7, as opposed to those without stasis, who had an average BMI of 23.8 with a standard deviation of 3.6 (p=0.013). Additionally, postpartum women with GB standstill ingested considerably less protein than those without it, with an average intake of 58 grams and a standard deviation of 10 (p-value < 0.001) as opposed to 69.4 grams and a standard deviation of 16.8 for those without stasis. Lower calorie consumption and lower BMI were shown to be independent predictors of decreased GBEF. It was shown that postpartum women (n=8) with gallstones (GS) in their gallbladders tended to consume diets low in protein more often (100% vs. 71% in those without GS; p=0.004). Additionally, they had lower serum ferritin levels (20.3 ± 10.5 µg/L against 41.7 38 g/L in those without GS; p=0.001) and were more likely to have had numerous pregnancies (75% compared to 22% in those without GS).
Conclusions: Postpartum women were more likely to have GS and GB stasis when their diets were insufficient in protein, had low serum ferritin levels, and had poor nutritional status. Reduced GBEF was independently predicted by lower BMI and decreased calorie consumption.
Keywords: gallstone, gallbladder, postpartum