Study of Relationship Between Gallstones and Concomitant Gastric Helicobacter Pylori Infection

Gallstone disease is one of the most common problems affecting the digestive tract where autopsy reports show a prevalence of 11-36% . The prevalence of gallstones is related to many factors including age, gender, and ethnic background. Women are three times more likely to develop gallstones than man and first-degree relatives have a two-fold increased prevalence . However, the etiology of gallstone formation beginning with the change in the composition of bile, leading to stones is not clear.

The association between Helicobacter pylori (H.Pylori) and gallstones has been investigated but not clearly demonstrated. H.Pylori is a gram negative and micro-aerophilic microorganism that can cause chronic gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastric adenocarcinoma and lymphoma of gastric mucosa-related lymphoid tissue (MALToma) . Relationship of H.Pylori with diseases of organs other than the stomach and duodenum has also been investigated and reported . H.Pylori have been detected in the gallbladder mucosa of patients with gallstones .

In this study, the presence of H.Pylori in the gallbladder mucosa of patients with symptomatic gallstones undergoing cholecystectomy was investigated. Concomitant H.Pylori infection of the gastric mucosa was also investigated to study the relationship of gastric H.Pylori infection to gallstones. It was hypothesized that H.Pylori infection of the gastric mucosa may have a role in the formation of gallstones.