Hospitalization rates for cholelithiasis and acute cholecystitis doubled for the aged population in Greece over the past 30 years.
OBJECTIVE
Gallbladder disease is becoming increasingly prevalent in Western countries and is a common cause of hospitalization. The objective of this study was to determine time trends in cholelithiasis and acute cholecystitis for hospitalization and disease case fatality in Greece between 1970 and 1998.


METHODS
Data were obtained from the Annual Bulletin for the Social Welfare and Health Statistics of the National Statistics Service of Greece. Percentage changes in time trends were estimated by comparing the median values of the initial (1970-78) to the last (1989-98) 10-year study period for cholelithiasis and acute cholecystitis at discharge and for all deaths attributed to the disease.


RESULTS
Over the study period, age-standardized hospitalization rates for cholelithiasis increased. The median hospitalization rate between the initial and last (178 and 258 per 100,000 of the population, respectively) 10-year study period increased by 44.7%, but peaked to 70.1% and 208.3% for the 70-79 and >80 years age groups, respectively. Case fatality rate declined by 56.8% and the median value was 0.24 per 100 patients hospitalized during the last 10-year period.


CONCLUSIONS
Hospitalization rates for cholelithiasis and/or acute cholecystitis increased by 45%, and doubled for elderly patients, while the case fatality rate of the disease halved in Greece over the past 30 years.
Papadopoulos
Angelos A
AA
Gastroenterology Unit, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Athens University, Attikon University General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Kateri
Maria
M
Triantafyllou
Konstantinos
K
Ladas
Dimitris
D
Tzathas
Charalambos
C
Koutras
Markos
M
Ladas
Spiros D
SD
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D041881:Cholecystitis, Acute / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016019:Survival Analysis