Prevalence of Gallstones in Finland: An Autopsy Study in the Helsinki Area

Abstract

The prevalence of gallstones in Helsinki (Uusimaa county) was determined in an autopsy sample consisting of 1102 males and 768 females. The crude prevalence of gallstone disease in men was 15.3%, as compared with 34.5% in women. The age-adjusted rates for men and women were 8.7% and 15.9%, respectively. The prevalence of gallstone disease appears to be significantly lower in Finland than in Sweden. However, cholecystectomy rates appear to be higher in Finland than in reports from Sweden and Norway. No significant association with neoplastic disease was found.

Sulfonated amphipols: Synthesis, properties, and applications

“…Gallstone prevalence equals to 50% or more among women was found for American Indians in USA,54 and Mapuche Indians in Chile,55 both populations presenting very high GC incidence rates. Other areas reporting high or medium prevalence of gallstones were identified in South America (Chile,55 Argentina,56 Mexico,57 Peru58 and Bolivia59), in Eastern and Western Europe (Austria,60 France,61 Norway,60 Finland,62 the UK,63 Sweden,64 Poland60 and Romania65) and in Australia 66. Very little is known about some countries like India where high incidence of symptomatic gallstones was reported in 1964 for the North‐East of the country (91.6/100,000 women),67 but results from ultrasound‐based studies are not available.…”

Cholecystectomy rates, gallstone prevalence, and handling of bile duct injuries in Scandinavia

“…After the introduction of ultrasound, several studies on gallstone prevalence were carried out in living Scandinavian subjects [8,10,11,16]. From Finland, only data from an autopsy study is available [6]. Key data from these studies are summarized in Table 3.…”

Ultrasonography detected a higher incidence of gallstones in psychiatric inpatients

“…Finally, it is necessary to replicate this preliminary study in larger populations and in other countries because the prevalence of gallstones varies in different countries (3, 4, [22][23][24][25].…”