Background: Cholecystitis is one of the major digestive diseases. Its prevalence is particularly high in some populations. Significant risk factors associated with cholecystitis include age, sex, obesity, diet, parity and type 2 diabetes.
Objective: To determine the association between HLA-DRB1 and cholecystitis.
Methods: This case-control study included forty Iraqi Arab patients who had cholecystitis with multiple calculi treated by cholecystectomy admitted in the surgical ward at Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital Baghdad between September -2013 to June -2014. The control group consisted of forty healthy volunteers among the staff of Al-Kindy College of Medicine. Control and cholecystitis patients groups were typed for identifying the DRB1* alleles using DNA-based methodology (PCR-SSOP).
Results: There was an increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*0301 in patients with cholecystitis compared with healthy controls (p=0.0442, odd ratio=4.1111, 95% CI: 1.0372-16.2949).
Conclusion: HLA-DRB1*0301, as a genetic factor, seems to have an association with cholecystitis.