Breast Cancer Incidence in Palermo City (Italy)

Prevalence of biliary lithiasis in the elderly people of a small town in Sicily

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of biliary lithiasis (BL) and its major associated factors in the elderly people of a small town in Sicily. All inhabitants over the age of 65 were interviewed and underwent a general physical examination, blood tests and ultrasonography of the gallbladder and biliary tracts. The final group included 328 subjects (162 men and 166 women), representing 63.1% of the population asked to participate, with a mean age of 74.3 +/- 6.8 years (range 65-95). The prevalence of BL (lithiasis in progress + subjects cholecystectomized for previous calculosis) was 18.6%. No male subject had been cholecystectomized. Prevalence was higher in women …