{"id":9858,"date":"2025-04-09T20:58:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T20:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=9858"},"modified":"2025-11-14T22:07:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T22:07:14","slug":"risk-factors-for-gallstones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/risk-factors-for-gallstones\/","title":{"rendered":"Risk Factors for Gallstones"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1475236112.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9859 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1475236112-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1475236112-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1475236112-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1475236112-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1475236112-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1475236112-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1475236112-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Gallstones are hardened deposits of digestive fluid that can form in your gallbladder. They can range in size from as small as a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. Some people develop just one gallstone, while others develop many gallstones at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>People who experience symptoms from their gallstones usually require gallbladder removal surgery. Gallstones that don\u2019t cause any signs or symptoms typically don\u2019t need treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Gallstones may cause no signs or symptoms. If a gallstone lodges in a duct and causes a blockage, the resulting signs and symptoms may include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the upper right portion of the abdomen<\/li>\n<li>Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the center of the abdomen, just below the breastbone<\/li>\n<li>Back pain between your shoulder blades<\/li>\n<li>Pain in your right shoulder<\/li>\n<li>Nausea or vomiting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Gallstone pain may last several minutes to a few hours.<\/p>\n<p>It isn\u2019t clear what causes gallstones to form. Doctors think gallstones may occur when:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your bile contains too much cholesterol<\/li>\n<li>Your bile contains too much bilirubin<\/li>\n<li>Your gallbladder doesn\u2019t empty correctly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The types of gallstones that can form in the gallbladder include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cholesterol gallstones<\/li>\n<li>Pigment gallstones<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Factors that may increase your risk of gallstones include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Being female<\/li>\n<li>Being 40 years old or older<\/li>\n<li>Being Native American<\/li>\n<li>Being Hispanic of Mexican origin<\/li>\n<li>Being overweight or obese<\/li>\n<li>Being sedentary<\/li>\n<li>Being pregnant<\/li>\n<li>Eating a high-fat diet<\/li>\n<li>Eating a high-cholesterol diet<\/li>\n<li>Eating a low-fiber diet<\/li>\n<li>Having a family history of gallstones<\/li>\n<li>Having diabetes<\/li>\n<li>Having certain blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia or leukemia<\/li>\n<li>Losing weight very quickly<\/li>\n<li>Taking medications that contain estrogen such as oral contraceptives or hormone therapy drugs<\/li>\n<li>Having liver disease<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are several complications of gallstones, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Inflammation of the gallbladder<\/li>\n<li>Blockage of the common bile duct<\/li>\n<li>Blockage of the pancreatic duct<\/li>\n<li>Gallbladder cancer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can reduce your risk of gallstones by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Not skipping meals<\/li>\n<li>Losing weight slowly<\/li>\n<li>Eating more high-fiber foods<\/li>\n<li>Maintaining a healthy weight<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are several tests and procedures used to diagnose gallstones and complications of gallstones, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Abdominal ultrasound<\/li>\n<li>Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)<\/li>\n<li>Other imaging tests<\/li>\n<li>Blood tests<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A healthcare provider will determine if treatment for gallstones is indicated based on your symptoms and the results of diagnostic testing. Treatment options for gallstones include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gallbladder surgery (cholecystectomy)<\/li>\n<li>Medications to dissolve gallstones<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Flushing Hospital Medical Center offers multiple options for gallbladder removal surgery, this includes <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/clinical-services\/robotic-surgery\/\" target=\"_blank\">robotic surgery<\/a>. To schedule an appointment with a specialist, please call\u00a0<a href=\"tel:7186705000\">(718) 670-5000<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gallstones are hardened deposits of digestive fluid that can form in your gallbladder. They can range in size from as small as a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. Some people develop just one gallstone, while &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/risk-factors-for-gallstones\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1,510,4],"tags":[124,2369],"class_list":["post-9858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-health","category-health","category-lifestyle","category-womens-health","tag-gallstones","tag-risk-factors-for-gallstones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9858"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10394,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9858\/revisions\/10394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}