Evidence mapPaperPMID 40797339Full record

ArticleJournal of health, population, and nutrition2025

Red blood cell distribution width to albumin ratio as a predictor of gallstones in US adults: a NHANES-based cross-sectional study.

Jiali Huang, Hong Liu

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Article in Journal of health, population, and nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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2 citing papers in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Jiali HuangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100038, China.
Hong LiuDepartment of Gastroenterology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100038, China. liuhong_sjt@ccmu.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe red blood cell distribution width-to-albumin ratio (RAR) is an indicator of the body’s inflammatory condition and is associated with several diseases. RAR may be clinically relevant given that inflammation is involved in gallstone formation. However, its association with the development of gallstones remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the relationship between RAR and gallstones.

methodsThis population-based cross-sectional study analyzed data from 5800 American adults aged ≥ 20 years, in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2020. Three multivariate logistic regression models (adjusted for demographics, behaviors, and comorbidities) and a restricted cubic spline (RCS) model were constructed to evaluate the association between RAR and gallstones. Sensitivity analyses, which included stratification and interaction analyses, were performed to identify the population of interest and evaluate the possible interactions between RAR and gallstones.

resultsThe study included 5,800 participants with complete data, of whom 620 (10.7%) had gallstones. RCS analysis indicated a positive correlation between RAR levels and the presence of gallstones. Fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression revealed that each 1-unit increase in RAR was significantly associated with elevated gallstone risk (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.06–1.47; P = 0.008). Compared to the low RAR group, the high RAR group showed a significantly increased gallstone risk (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.09–1.81; P = 0.010). Subgroup analyses indicated that the populations of special concern included individuals aged ≥ 50 years, females, widowed/divorced/separated, smokers, non-diabetic, non-hypertensive, and non-coronary heart disease individuals.

conclusionsThis is the first study to explore the direct positive relationship between RAR and the likelihood of developing gallstones. Its low cost and routine accessibility makes RAR a practical tool for early risk stratification, particularly in high-prevalence populations. Further longitudinal studies are required to confirm causality and clinical applicability.

Indexed as

Erythrocyte IndicesGallstonesSerum AlbuminAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNutrition SurveysRisk FactorsUnited StatesSerum AlbuminCross-sectional studyGallstonesInflammationNHANESRed cell distribution width to albumin ratio

Identifiers

PMID40797339
PMCPMC12341070

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.