title: The effects of serum cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels on gallstone cholesterol concentration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gallbladder stones are common in the Western world, and 70% to 80% of gallstones are cholesterol stones. This study investigates the effects of serum cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels on gallstone cholesterol concentration.
  
  
  METHODS
  The gallstones of 75 patients with cholelithiasis were examined using spectrophotometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High serum cholesterol and LDL levels were associated with high cholesterol stone rates (86.7% vs. 40.0%, P < 0.001; 75.0% vs. 48.9%, P < 0.05, respectively). Similarly, high serum cholesterol and LDL levels were correlated with high gallbladder stone cholesterol concentrations (63.6% vs. 44.4%, P < 0.001; 62.3% vs. 46.0%, P < 0.001, respectively). In contrast, low serum HDL levels do not seem to affect the occurrence of gallbladder cholesterol stones (60.0% vs. 58.3%, respectively, P > 0.05) or gallbladder stone cholesterol concentrations (50.8% vs. 52.4%, respectively, P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relationship between cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels and cholesterol gallstone formation is multifactorial and complex and is also dependent on other individual properties.
authors.affiliation: S. Selcuk Atamanalp, Professor, Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: S Selcuk
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Atamanalp
authors.affiliation: M. Sait Keles, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: M Sait
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Keles
authors.affiliation: R. Selim Atamanalp, English Medicine Section, Class 1, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: R Selim
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Atamanalp
authors.affiliation: Hamit Acemoglu,Associate Professor, Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hamit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Acemoglu
authors.affiliation: Dr. Esra Laloglu, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laloglu
keywords: Cholesterol; Gallstone; HDL; LDL