The prevalence of hypothyroidism in diagnosed cases of cholelithiasis

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of hypothyroidism in diagnosed cases of cholelithiasis using the patient's ultrasonography data and to find the prevalence of obesity in gallstone disease. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Govt. medical college, Thrissur. Two hundred and sixty five study subjects were selected from the patients who were attending wards and outpatient department (OPD) of General Surgery with diagnosed cases of cholelithiasis by ultrasound of abdomen. All the participants were subjected to clinical examination and lab investigations. Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was used to assess thyroid function and thereby hypothyroidism. Body Mass Index (BMI) was used to assess obesity. Results: High prevalence of hypothyroidism (23%) was observed in gallstone disease. In this study only 6% gallstone disease subjects were obese. We also found that 73% of the study subjects with hypothyroidism were obese. Conclusion: Hypothyroidism may be suggested as a risk factor for developing gallstone disease. Gallstone patients should be checked for serum TSH because of high incidence of hypothyroidism.