Parkman, Henry P, Yates, Katherine, Hasler, William L et al. · Digestive diseases and sciences · 2013 · DOI
This study looked at 391 patients with gastroparesis (a condition where the stomach empties food slowly) to see if those who had their gallbladder removed had different symptoms than those who hadn't. They found that patients who had gallbladder surgery experienced more severe upper abdominal pain and retching, but less constipation. Interestingly, patients with prior gallbladder removal also had more other health conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Many ME/CFS patients report gastrointestinal symptoms including gastroparesis, and this study reveals that prior gallbladder surgery is associated with distinct symptom patterns and higher rates of comorbid conditions like ME/CFS itself. Understanding these associations may help clinicians better recognize and manage gastroparesis in ME/CFS populations and inform decisions about surgical interventions in patients with multiple concurrent conditions.
This study does not prove that cholecystectomy causes gastroparesis or specific symptom presentations—only that they are associated. The cross-sectional design cannot determine causality or directionality: patients may have had surgery because of pre-existing GI dysfunction, or surgery may have altered symptom expression. The high rate of ME/CFS in the postcholecystectomy group raises questions about whether shared underlying pathophysiology predisposes to both conditions rather than one causing the other.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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