Unscientific lifestyle causes the risk of gallstones

Gallstones are a common digestive disease, often found in middle-aged and elderly people. However, in recent years, the incidence of the disease in young people has increased rapidly due to the influence of unhealthy lifestyles such as lack of exercise, fast food consumption, and increased work pressure.

Dr. Vu Truong Khanh examines a patient.

Need to pay attention to the symptom of pain in the right hypochondrium

Ms. Hoang Thanh H. (29 years old, Hanoi ) due to her busy work often eats irregularly, some days skipping breakfast or only drinking coffee or tea instead, other days she eats too much. A diet high in fast food, fried foods, and the habit of consuming a lot of sweets causes her weight to increase rapidly.

With a height of 1m58, weight of 65kg, her BMI is 26, in the overweight group. Recently, she often has dull pain in the right hypochondrium after eating. She went to the doctor, ultrasound discovered gallstones in her gallbladder.

Ms. H. was advised to change to a healthy diet and exercise regularly to control her weight. In addition, she was advised to have regular follow-up. When the gallstones caused pain, laparoscopic cholecystectomy would be indicated as treatment.

Patient Nguyen HL (42 years old, Hanoi) was rushed to the hospital due to severe abdominal pain in the right hypochondrium, accompanied by mild fever and nausea. Ultrasound and MRI results showed that there was a 1.2 cm gallstone in the gallbladder causing obstruction of the gallbladder neck, leading to acute cholecystitis.

Before that, Mr. L. occasionally experienced pain in the right hypochondrium, but he ignored it, only taking painkillers and not going to the doctor. Maintaining an irregular lifestyle, regularly entertaining guests with beer and alcohol, and a diet high in meat and low in vegetables caused the gallstones to gradually worsen.

Although alcohol is not a direct cause of gallstones, when drinking alcohol we often eat more, especially meat and fatty foods, which can trigger or aggravate biliary colic in people who already have underlying gallstones. This is also the reason why many patients only discover the disease after heavy drinking parties when acute symptoms appear.

Mr. L. was treated with antibiotics and intravenous fluids to stabilize his condition, then indicated for laparoscopic cholecystectomy to remove stones and prevent complications from recurring. After surgery, the patient recovered well, and was advised to limit alcohol, reduce fat in the diet and maintain a healthy lifestyle to protect the digestive system.

Need to change lifestyle to prevent gallstones

Dr. Vu Truong Khanh, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology-Hepatobiliary-Pancreas, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, former Head of the Department of Gastroenterology-Bach Mai Hospital, said that the gallbladder's main function is to store and release bile to aid in the digestion of fat.

Bile consists of cholesterol, bilirubin and bile salts; when these components are out of balance, they can crystallize to form gallstones of various sizes. There are three main types of gallstones: cholesterol stones (containing at least 80% cholesterol, forming singly, about 2 to 3cm long each); bile pigment stones, also known as bilirubin stones (containing less than 20% cholesterol, often forming in large numbers); mixed stones (containing 20 to 80% cholesterol with calcium and bile pigment, often appearing after biliary tract infections, can be detected by X-ray). Today, in Vietnam, gallstones are mainly cholesterol stones.

If not detected and treated promptly, gallstones can cause many serious complications such as cholecystitis, acute pancreatitis, gallbladder perforation, biliary tract infection or even gallbladder cancer. In particular, large stones can easily cause bile duct obstruction, making the disease progress more quickly and dangerously.

According to Dr. Khanh, gallstones are a common digestive disease, often found in middle-aged and elderly people. However, in recent years, the incidence of the disease in young people has increased rapidly due to the influence of unhealthy lifestyles.

According to the Ministry of Health , in Vietnam, gallstones account for about 60 to 70% of all cases of gallstones. Notably, only about 10 to 20% of patients have no symptoms immediately after detection and symptoms may appear 5 to 20 years later. The rest, most patients only go to the doctor when the disease has caused complications, making treatment more complicated.

"A diet high in fat, processed foods, too much meat but lacking in green vegetables and fiber, the habit of skipping meals or losing weight too quickly all make bile easily crystallize and form stones. In addition, sitting for long periods without exercise, increased calorie consumption leading to overweight, obesity, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome - factors related to increased total cholesterol and bile metabolism disorders, can also lead to gallstones," said Dr. Khanh.

To prevent gallstones, people need to have a moderate lifestyle, exercise , maintain a reasonable weight, prioritize a diet rich in green vegetables and fiber, limit fatty foods, processed foods and stimulants. Drinking enough water and maintaining regular physical activity also play an important role in preventing the formation of gallstones.

In addition, when there are signs such as pain in the right hypochondrium, bloating after eating, nausea, etc., do not be subjective but go to the doctor to detect digestive problems. Even in cases where there are stones but no symptoms, the patient should still be monitored regularly to avoid dangerous complications.

THIEN LAMB

Source: https://nhandan.vn/loi-song-thieu-khoa-hoc-gay-ra-nguy-co-mac-soi-tui-mat-post909058.html