Prevalence of Gallbladder Calcifications
Gallbladder wall calcification (porcelain gallbladder) is a rare condition with no precise population prevalence data available in current guidelines, though it is recognized as an uncommon finding typically discovered incidentally on imaging studies. 1, 2, 3
Epidemiological Context
The available evidence does not provide specific population-based prevalence rates for gallbladder calcifications. However, the literature consistently characterizes this condition as follows:
Porcelain gallbladder is described as "relatively rare" and "uncommon" in the medical literature, with most cases being asymptomatic and discovered incidentally during imaging for other indications. 2, 3, 4
The condition appears predominantly in the sixth decade of life and is more prevalent in women, though specific gender ratios are not well-established in population studies. 2
Most cases are detected incidentally on plain abdominal radiographs or CT scans performed for unrelated abdominal complaints. 1, 4
Clinical Significance vs. Prevalence
While precise prevalence data is lacking, the clinical importance of recognizing gallbladder calcifications relates to historical concerns about malignancy risk:
Historical literature reported gallbladder cancer rates of 12-62% in porcelain gallbladder (with the largest series containing only 26 patients), but more recent analyses indicate a much lower incidence of approximately 6%. 3, 5
In a large contemporary series of 192 patients with radiographic diagnosis of porcelain gallbladder, zero cases of gallbladder cancer were identified either at surgery (n=102) or during observational follow-up (n=90, mean 3.5 years). 5
Important Caveats
The rarity of this condition means that population-based screening studies have not been conducted, and prevalence estimates remain unavailable in current medical literature. 2, 3 The condition's asymptomatic nature and incidental detection pattern further complicate efforts to establish true population prevalence.
Gallbladder calcification should be distinguished from other gallbladder pathologies that have better-defined prevalence data, such as gallbladder polyps (6-17% in PSC patients) and cholelithiasis (gallstones), which are far more common. 6