Tobacco smoking may promote the development of gallbladder diseases, including gallstone.
The objective of this meta-analysis was to synthesize evidence from studies that examined the association between tobacco smoking and the risk of developing diseases of the gallbladder, including gallstone (cholelithiasis). Researchers pooled data from 10 studies that enrolled 4,213,482 subjects and 59,530 cases of gallbladder disease.
Researchers observed that tobacco smoking correlated with higher risk of gallbladder disease. The results of this study suggest that current and previous smokers may have a high predisposition to develop diseases associated with the gallbladder.