24Drs好健康報:女性腰圍透露膽結石風險！？
好健康熱頭條 ─ 女性腰圍可能透露膽結石風險 Women's Waists May Tell Gallstone Risk
好健康小單字─膽結石（Cholelithiasis）
好健康熱頭條 ─ 女性腰圍可能透露膽結石風險
對於女性來說，上腹部較大可能意味著最後較可能需要做手術來移除膽結石。
這項研究發現發表於內臟期刊，來自一項歷時14年包括超過42,000位女性護士的研究；這些女性在1986年報告了她們的腰圍和臀圍、身高和體重，她們在那時年齡是39-66歲，同時每兩年完成有關於她們健康的問卷調查表。
在2000年之前，這群人中已經有將近3,200個人，由於膽結石疾病做過外科手術除去膽囊；研究顯示，在這項研究開始時，腰圍大以及腰圍與臀圍比高的女性，較可能會做這項手術。
研究人員包含了Chung-Jyi Tsai醫學博士；Tsai目前任職於肯塔基大學消化疾病和營養系及哈佛醫學院。
【關於膽結石】
膽囊是一個小的器官，會分泌膽汁進入消化道來幫助消化我們所吃的食物；膽結石是在膽囊中發展的結晶沈澱物，它們可能像沙子一樣小的穀粒般大小，或是像高爾夫球球一樣大；膽結石可能很硬或是軟的，平滑或鋸齒形的，有可能是很多種類型或只有一種。
在美國，將近10%的男性和20%的女性在他們的生命某時曾有過膽結石（膽結石在60歲之後很常見)，但是他們並不是都知道；膽結石常常是無害的，但是如果它們停留在膽囊管中，膽結石就可能會變成痛苦的，且可能易受感染而引起發炎。
Tsai和同事指出，在美國，每年有超過800,000項除去膽結石的手術；研究人員表示，在西方國家中，膽結石通常是因膽固醇形成的。
【腰圍大是一項危險因子】
研究人員不僅僅探討女性的腰圍大小，他們也將女性的身高納入考慮。
根據身高調整過的腰圍在36吋以上的女性，在研究期間，比那些身高調整過腰圍在26吋以下的女性，較可能做膽結石外科手術的機會幾乎是兩倍。
為了獲得女性的腰圍與臀圍的比值，Tsai的研究小組將每位女性的腰圍除以她們的臀圍；這項研究顯示，腰圍與臀圍比在0.86以上的女性，相較於那些腰圍與臀圍比在0.70以下的女性，做膽結石外科手術的機會高40%。
研究人員表示，其他的女性或許有不需要做外科手術、未被發現又無害處的膽結石。
【腹部脂肪是一項問題】
這項研究顯示，腹部脂肪可能有某些特別重要的部分。
Tsai和同事特別提到，當人變老時，他們的腰圍容易變大，而且脂肪時常聚集在腹部；他們表示，內臟的脂肪--深入腹部中的脂肪--可能比在身體其他部位的脂肪更為活躍。
Women's Waists May Tell Gallstone Risk
For women, a large midriff may mean being more likely to eventually get surgery to remove gallstones.
The finding, published in the journal Gut, comes from a 14-year study of more than 42,000 female nurses. The women reported their waist and hip measurements, height, and weight in 1986. They were 39-66 years old at the time. The women also completed questionnaires about their health every two years.
By 2000, the group had had nearly 3,200 surgeries to remove the gallbladder due to gallstone disease. Women with large waists and high waist-to-hip ratios at the study's start were more likely to have had the operation, the study shows.
The researchers included Chung-Jyi Tsai, MD, ScD. Tsai works in the University of Kentucky's division of digestive diseases and nutrition and at Harvard Medical School.
About Gallstones
The gallbladder is a small organ that secretes bile into the digestive tract to help digest food we eat. Gallstones are crystallized deposits that develop in the gallbladder. They may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. Gallstones may be hard or soft, smooth or jagged, numerous or one-of-a-kind.
In the U.S., nearly 10% of men and 20% of women have gallstones at some point in their lives (gallstones are most common after 60), but not all of them know it. Gallstones are often harmless. But if they lodge in the gallbladder's ducts, gallstones can become painful and possibly infected, causing inflammation.
Every year, more than 800,000 operations are done in the U.S. to remove gallstones, according to Tsai and colleagues. In Western countries, gallstones are typically made of cholesterol, the researchers add.
Large Waists a Risk Factor
The researchers didn't just look at the women's waist size. They also took the women's height into account.
Women with height-adjusted waists of 36 inches or more were nearly twice as likely to have gallstone surgery during the study as those with height-adjusted waists of less than 26 inches.
To get the women's waist-to-hip ratio, Tsai's team divided each woman's waist measurement by her hip measurement. Women with a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.86 or higher were nearly 40% more likely to have gallstone surgery than those with a waist-to-hip ratio of less than 0.70, the study shows.
Other women likely had undetected, harmless gallstones that didn't require surgery, the researchers write.
Abdominal Fat an Issue
There may be something particularly important about belly fat, the study suggests.
As people age, their waists tend to get bigger, and fat often gathers, note Tsai and colleagues. Visceral fat -- fat located deep in the abdomen -- may be more active than fat in other parts of the body, they add.
SOURCES: Tsai, C. Gut, Feb. 14, 2006; online edition. WebMD Medical Reference: "Understanding Gallstones: The Basics." News release, BMJ Specialist Journals.
WebMD Medical News
by Miranda Hitti
Reviewed By Louise Chang
好健康小單字─膽結石（Cholelithiasis）
膽結石是一種很常見的疾病，指的是膽道系統中有結石，包括肝內膽管結石、總膽管結石及膽囊結石等，而一般俗稱的膽結石則是指膽囊結石，是因為膽汁中的膽固醇或膽鹽積成的硬塊，致使膽汁無法保持液體狀，結成顆粒狀結晶並沉澱在膽囊及膽管中；膽結石可能小如一粒鹽，也可能大如一個檸檬。
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