EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF BILIARY DISEASES IN SOUTHERN TAIWAN : AN ULTRASONIC STUDY OF 3004 ASYMPTOMATIC SUBJECTS FROM A GENERAL POPULATION

An epidemiologic survey of the prevalence of biliary diseases was performed by ultrasonic screening of 3004 apparently healthy volunteers who were randomly selected from various areas of Southern Taiwan. Biliary diseases were detected in 120 (3.99%) of 3004 subjects: 74 (2.46%) with gallbladder stones, 9 (O.30%) with gallbladder polyps, 4 (O.13%) with stones of common bile duct, 3 (O.10%) with dilated common bile duct, 2 (O.07%) with pneumobiiia, and 28 (O.93%) with intrahepatic stones. The prevalence of gallbladder stones in males (2.26%) and femaies (2.69%) were similar and the rates increased in parallel with the age. The prevalence of intrahepatic stones in male (O.82%) and female (1.06%) were similar but the disease occurred more frequently in younger patients. There was no relationship between the prevalence of extrahepatic stones ix2= 3.61, p>O.1) and degree of urbanization (city, town or village). The difference of the prevalences of intrahepatic stones among different subdivisions of the areas was also not significant. (x2=O.953, p>O.5). The existence of parasite ova in stool did not affect the prevalence of biliary stones. ix2=3.37, p>O.05) It was concluded that the prevalence of gallbladder stones in Southern Taiwan is smilar to other reports of screening by ultrasound. the prevalence of intrahepatic stones was not as high as the previous studies from surgically resected biliary stones. The occurrence of biliary stones and their relationship with parasite infestation needs further investigation.