Association between lipid accumulation products and gallstones: an analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017–2020

Abstract Aims The aim of the research was to look into the connection between the occurrence of gallstones in adult US citizens and lipid accumulation products (LAP). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 3,582 U.S. adults with relevant indicators collected from the 2017–2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. Multifactorial logistic regression was used to investigate the linear relationship between LAP and gallstone incidence, while smoothed curve fitting was used to describe the nonlinear relationship, and subgroup and interaction analyses were used to evaluate the potential differences between groups. Results Among the 3582 participants aged ≥ 20 years included, there was a positive association between LAP and gallstones. Following adjustments for all covariates, the likelihood of getting gallstones rose by 29% for each unit rise in log2-LAP (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.13‒1.49). Compared to those in the lowest tertile, those in the highest LAP tertile had a significantly higher risk of developing gallstones (OR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.31‒2.95). Subgroup analyses indicated that the association between LAP and gallstones was not affected by the stratification of the variables examined. Conclusion Gallstones and LAP exhibited a positive association in our investigation, indicating that LAP may be utilized as a clinical indicator to determine the occurrence of gallstones.