After asthma, thyroid malfunction and juvenile diabetes, yet another medical problem is increasingly afflicting youngsters in our country.

Gall bladder stones are now becoming common, posing a serious health hazard to the upcoming generation, according to medical experts here.

Contrary to the textbook concept of four Fs (forty years, female, fertile and fat) being prone to formation of gall stones, the problem is increasingly surfacing among children and young adults, which used to be uncommon in the past.

“Early age gall bladder stones has lot of consequences and can lead to complications like pancreatitis (inflammation of pancreas), jaundice and other infections,” said K Ravindranath, CMD of Global Hospitals and president, Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (ELSA).

Besides, the medical condition which was mostly female-centric is now increasingly occurring in men. The reasons could be higher intake of fat, sendentary lifestyle, consumption of red meat, cakes, ice-creams and so on.

“It is a devastating disease that it can cause serious complications and mortality also,” said Dr Ravindranath.
However, the disease can be prevented by a balanced diet and regular exercise. Ravindranath said it was better to undergo laparoscopic removal of gall bladder through keyhole surgery, as complications could be serious and fatal at times.

Removal of gall bladder would not impact digestion as was commonly feared, he added.

Dr G V Rao, surgical gastroenterologist with the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology here, said high consumption of fast food does result in increased incidence of cholesterol stones and had been proved in the west.
But there is no definite data linking it to fast food consumption in our country, he said.

A change in dietary habits among the people leading to a higher consumption of fat was leading to increased formation of cholesterol stones among the young, he said.