Prevalence and risk factors of chronic hepatobiliary diseases among rural native Tibetan dwellers in Lhasa

Objective To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of chronic hepatobiliary diseases among rural native Tibetan dwellers in Lhasa,Tibet and to provide evidences for making intervention strategies for the diseases.Methods A self-administrated questionnaire survey,physical examination,and type-B ultrasound and liver function test were conducted among 1 737 adult native Tibetans(≥18 years old) selected with stratified random sampling from rural areas of Mozhugongka and Linzhou county of Lhasa municipality.Results The overall prevalence of chronic hepatobiliary diseases among the dwellers was 22.3%,with the prevalences of 11.3% for cholecystitis,6.2% for cholelithiasis,4.5% for hepatic adipose infiltration,1.9% for hepatic echinococcosis,1.6% for hepatic hemangioma,and 0.8% for cirrhosis,respectively.The main risk factors of the chronic hepatobiliary diseases were female gender,aged ≥45 years,with average monthly income of >2 000 yuan RMB,overweight,obesity,central obesity,and increased alanine transferase(ALT) based on the results of multivariate unconditional logistic regression.Conclusion Cholecystitis is one of major chronic hepatobiliary diseases among rural native Tibetan dwellers in Lhasa and females,the elderly,the dwellers with higher average monthly income,body mass index,increased ALT,and central obesity are the key populations for the prevention and teatment of chronic hepatobiliary diseases in the areas.