New Progress in Longitudinal Research on the Risk Factors for Cholelithiasis

Cholelithiasis is a common disease of the digestive system. The risk factors for cholelithiasis have been reported and summarized many times in the published literature, which primarily focused on cross-sectional studies. Due to the inherent limitations of the study design, the reported findings still need to be validated in additional longitudinal studies. Moreover, a number of new risk factors for cholelithiasis have been identified in recent years, such as bariatric surgery, hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis C virus infection, kidney stones, colectomy, osteoporosis, etc. These new findings have not yet been included in published reviews. Herein, we reviewed the 101 cholelithiasis-associated risk factors identified through research based on longitudinal investigations, including cohort studies, randomized controlled trials, and nested case control studies. The risk factors associated with the pathogenesis of cholelithiasis were categorized as unmodifiable and modifiable factors. The unmodifiable factors consist of age, sex, race, and family history, while the modifiable factors include 37 biological environmental factors, 25 socioenvironmental factors, and 35 physiochemical environmental factors. This study provides thorough and comprehensive ideas for research concerning the pathogenesis of cholelithiasis, supplying the basis for identifying high-risk groups and formulating relevant prevention strategies.