SummaryAn attempt has been made to determine what association, if any, exists between chronic dyspepsia and the presence of gall-stones, determined radiologically in women aged 50-70 years.The survey was conducted in a general practice to avoid the selection inevitable in a hospital population.The women were interviewed before being x-rayed, so that their histories were not biased by any knowledge of whether gall-stones were present or not.A history of dyspepsia was obtained from 12 (50%) out of 24 subjects with gall-bladder disease. Of those with normal cholecystograms 63 (53%) out of 118 had similar symptoms.The dyspepsia suffered by those with gall-stones was not distinguishable from that experienced by those with normal gall-bladders.It is concluded that among women aged between 50 and 70 the occurrence of chronic dyspepsia and gall-bladder disease is coincidental. These symptoms cannot assist in diagnosis of gall-bladder disease and should not influence its treatment.I am grateful to Dr. E. B. French for suggesting this inquiry and for helpful criticism; to Dr. R. C. McNair for enlisting the co-operation of his patients; to Mr. S.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.