The abnormal gall bladder in Nigeria : a ten year study (1957 to 1967)

Abstract

Gallbladder disease is not rare in Nigeria. The etiological factors are probably different from those in temperate lands. There is increasing awareness among clinicians of its occurrence, both in Nigeria and in neighbouring countries. All the patients to be considered in this study were living in West Africa, excluding Asians and Europeans. The number of patients with gall bladder disease admitted to the wards was 80, and 70 of whom had cholecystitis with or without gall stones. 47 of the 70 patients were female, a female to male ratio of 2: 1. The proportion of female sufferers from this complaint is almost certainly higher than this: it is much more difficult for a woman to reach hospital in Nigeria than it is for a man, for cultural, domestic and financial reasons. Furthermore, following the data as retrieved from the autopsy findings in the ten year period, the incidence of disease was well below 1%. The figure is however a biased one since a high proportion of the autopsies was on neonates and on children. The known cases are only a small proportion of the total and this is especially the case in countries where hospitals are few. In Nigeria animal fats are not eaten on a large scale. It is possible that the etiology of gall stones here depends more on the link with episodes of hemolysis