Chronic cholecystitis

Definition:

A long-standing inflammation of the gallbladder.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Chronic cholecystitis is caused by repeated mild attacks of acute cholecystitis, leading to thickening of the walls of the gallbladder and shrinking of the gallbladder. The gallbladder eventually loses the ability to concentrate and store bile. Eating fatty food may aggravate the symptoms. The disease occurs more often in women than in men, and the incidence increases after the age of 40. Risk factors are a previous history of acute cholecystitis. The incidence is 7 out of 10,000 people.