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Housecall Archives
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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Mayo Clinic Housecall
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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that may increase your risk of gallstones include:
- Being female
- Being age 60 or older
- Being an American Indian
- Being a Mexican-American
- Being overweight or obese
- Being pregnant
- Eating a high-fat diet
- Eating a high-cholesterol diet
- Eating a low-fiber diet
- Having a family history of gallstones
- Having diabetes
- Losing weight very quickly
- Taking cholesterol-lowering medications
- Taking medications that contain estrogen, such as hormone therapy drugs
References
- Gallstones. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gallstones/index.htm. Accessed May 28, 2009.
- Understanding gallstones. American Gastroenterological Association. http://www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5680. Accessed May 28, 2009.
- Choi Y, et al. Biliary tract disorders, gallbladder disorders and gallstone pancreatitis. American College of Gastroenterology. http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/gihealth/biliary.asp?mode=print&. Accessed May 28, 2009.
- Browning JD, et al. Gallstone diseases. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/140200591-2/0/1389/0.html. Accessed May 28, 2009.
- What are the risk factors for gallbladder cancer? American Cancer Society. Accessed June 8, 2009.
- Rakel D. Cholelithiasis. In: Rakel D. Integrative Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/142209696-2/0/1494/0.html. Accessed June 8, 2009.
- Venneman NG, et al. Gallstone disease: Primary and secondary prevention. Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology. 2006;20:1063.
