Gallstone is a common health problem. Cholesterol stone accounts for 90% of stones in the United States and Europe, but East Asia has a high proportion of pigment stone. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between modifiable metabolic factors and gallstone in a region with a high prevalence of pigment stone. Among 3159 participants who underwent health screening at Ulsan University Hospital from March 2014 to June 2019, 178 patients were diagnosed with gallstone using abdominal ultrasonography; 2860 participants were selected as a control group. Demographic and laboratory data, and a medical questionnaire were obtained. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were more prevalent in the gallstone group. Age, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c ≥ 6.5%, visceral fat index, normal-attenuated muscle area index, and engaging in vigorous exercise for ≥2 days per week were associated with gallstone by univariate analysis. Through multivariate logistic regression analysis, HbA1c ≥ 6.5% (odds ratio (OR) 1.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.31–2.98), and 2 or more days of vigorous exercise per week (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.45–0.95) remained significant. The association persisted after adjusted analysis for age and sex. HbA1c ≥ 6.5% were positively associated with the gallstone. Vigorous exercise for at least 2 days weekly may be related to a lower risk of gallstone formation.

Hoyoung Wang, Kee Wook Jung, Jin Hee Noh, Hee Kyoung Na, Ji Yong Ahn, Jeong Hoon Lee, Do Hoon Kim, Kee Don Choi, Ho June Song, Gin Hyug Lee, and Hwoon-Yong Jung. J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2024;30:453-8. https://doi.org/10.5056/jnm23149

Hoyoung Wang. Sex Gender Biomed 2026;1:179-80. https://doi.org/10.65400/SGBM.2026.1.3.179

Background and Aim: Although clarithromycin resistance is a major cause of empirical triple therapy failure for Helicobacter pylori eradication, the clinical relevance of amoxicillin susceptibility remains uncertain. We first compared eradication outcomes between empirical and susceptibility‐guided tailored triple therapy and then evaluated the influence of treatment duration and amoxicillin susceptibility among patients with clarithromycin‐susceptible strains receiving tailored triple therapy. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 807 patients receiving empirical or susceptibility‐guided tailored triple therapy in Korea from 2020 to 2024. Eradication outcomes were assessed in modified intention‐to‐treat (mITT) and per‐protocol (PP) populations by antibiotic susceptibility and treatment duration. Results: Eradication rates were higher with tailored than empirical triple therapy (mITT: 92.9% vs. 69.3%, p < 0.001; PP: 93.7% vs. 69.7%, p < 0.001). Among patients with clarithromycin‐susceptible strains receiving tailored triple therapy, eradication rates were higher in amoxicillin‐susceptible than in amoxicillin‐resistant strains in the mITT analysis (94.0% vs. 86.8%, p = 0.034), whereas the difference was not statistically significant in the PP analysis (94.5% vs. 89.4%, p = 0.118). In the PP population, eradication rates did not differ significantly according to treatment duration in either amoxicillin‐susceptible ( p = 0.073) or amoxicillin‐resistant strains ( p = 0.884). Conclusions: Among patients with clarithromycin‐susceptible strains receiving tailored triple therapy, eradication rates did not differ significantly according to treatment duration. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because the study may have been underpowered to detect modest but clinically meaningful differences. Amoxicillin susceptibility may be associated with eradication outcomes, although the statistical robustness of this association remains limited.