Cholecystectomy is associated with a reduced risk of stroke in patients with gallstones, a Taiwanese study shows.

Researchers compared 155,356 patients with gallstones who underwent cholecystectomy and 155,356 patients with gallstones who did not have their gallbladder removed using data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2012.

The risk of stroke was significantly decreased with cholecystectomy for all stroke types, with hemorrhagic stroke reduced by 45% and ischaemic strokes reduced by 40%, the authors reported in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Stroke risk was significantly lower for both asymptomatic and symptomatic gallstone patients after cholecystectomy, compared with asymptomatic patients who did not have their gallbladder removed.