In general, gallbladder disease (GBD) is one of the major digestive diseases. GBD prevalence is particularly high in some minority populations in the United States, including Native and Mexican Americans. Gallstones composed of cholesterol (cholelithiasis) are the common manifestations of GBD in western countries, including the United States. Most people with gallstones remain asymptomatic through their lifetimes; however, it is estimated that approximately 10 to 50% of individuals eventually develop symptoms. Significant risk factors associated with GBD are age, female sex, obesity (especially central obesity), lipids, diet, parity, type 2 diabetes (125853), medications, and Mexican American ethnicity. GBD appears to be strongly related to the metabolic syndrome (605552) and/or its major components, such as hyperinsulinism, dyslipidemia, and abdominal adiposity (Boland et al., 2002; Tsai et al., 2004). Infection, specifically by Helicobacter, has been implicated in cholelithiasis and cholecystitis (Silva et al., 2003; Maurer et al., 2005).
Low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis is a specific form of gallbladder disease characterized by young-adult onset of chronic cholestasis with intrahepatic sludge and cholesterol cholelithiasis. Affected individuals have recurrence of the disorder after cholecystectomy and show a favorable response to treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) (summary by Pasmant et al., 2012).
Mutation in the ABCB4 gene can cause a spectrum of related diseases, including the more severe progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis-3 (PFIC3; 602347), intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy-3 (ICP3; 614972), andoral contraceptive-induced cholestasis (OCIC; see 614972).
Genetic Heterogeneity of Gallbladder Disease
Two major susceptibility loci for symptomatic gallbladder disease have been identified on chromosome 1p in Mexican Americans (GBD2, 609918; GBD3, 609919). In addition, variations in the ABCG8 gene (605460) on chromosome 2p21 confer susceptibility to gallbladder disease (GBD4; 611465). [from
OMIM]