| Course | NSG 120 Nursing Pathophysiology |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Risk factor and prevention table |
| Length | About 430 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 120 Unit 7
Cholesterol Gallstones, Factor by Factor: A Risk Table That States What Each Factor Does to the Bile or the Gallbladder
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 120: Nursing Pathophysiology
Instructor Name
February 27, 2026
Cholesterol Gallstones, Factor by Factor: A Risk Table That States What Each Factor Does to the Bile or the Gallbladder
The Process the Table Refers To
Most gallstones in the United States are cholesterol stones. Three things have to happen for them to form. First, the liver secretes bile that carries more cholesterol than its bile acids and phospholipids can keep dissolved; the bile is then called supersaturated. Second, the dissolved cholesterol comes out of solution as tiny crystals, a step called nucleation. Third, the gallbladder empties too slowly or too incompletely, giving the crystals time to clump into sludge and then stones (Lammert et al., 2016). Every factor in the table acts on one or more of these three steps, and the table names which.
The relationship column uses four words, each with one meaning. Initiates: pushes bile toward the first step. Accelerates: speeds a process already under way. Makes harder to reverse: keeps stones or sludge in place once formed. Travels alongside: appears with gallstones more often than chance but does not itself drive a step, as far as the reading shows.
The Table
M marks a factor a person can change; U marks one they cannot. The reason for the mark is part of the row.
| Factor | M/U | Relationship to the process | What the reading says about reducing it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female sex | U: set at birth | Initiates. Estrogen increases the liver's secretion of cholesterol into bile, raising saturation. | Not reducible; it raises the weight given to modifiable factors. |
| Pregnancy | M in timing only | Initiates and accelerates. Estrogen raises cholesterol in bile, while progesterone relaxes the gallbladder muscle so it empties less. | Sludge that forms often clears after delivery; no preventive treatment is standard (Lammert et al., 2016). |
| Obesity | M | Initiates. The liver makes and secretes more cholesterol. | Weight loss lowers long-term risk, but only if it is gradual (see next row). |
| Rapid weight loss, including very low calorie diets and bariatric surgery | M: the rate can be managed | Initiates and accelerates. Cholesterol is mobilized from fat stores into bile, and very low fat intake means the gallbladder is rarely stimulated to empty. | Ursodeoxycholic acid reduced stones during weight loss (risk ratio 0.33); diets with more fat also reduced stones (Stokes et al., 2014). |
| Physical inactivity | M | Accelerates. The pathway is less settled; reduced gallbladder emptying and insulin resistance are proposed. | Women in the most active fifth had about 30% lower risk of gallbladder removal (Leitzmann et al., 1999). |
| Long fasting or feeding only by vein | M: clinical decision | Makes harder to reverse and accelerates. With no food in the gut, the gallbladder is not signaled to contract, so bile sits and forms sludge. | Early feeding by mouth or tube where possible keeps the gallbladder emptying. |
| Age over 40 | U: time | Accelerates. Cholesterol secretion into bile rises with age. | Not reducible. |
| Family history and genetic variants | U: inherited | Initiates in some people. Variants in cholesterol transport genes raise bile saturation (Lammert et al., 2016). | Not reducible; it identifies who should take the modifiable factors most seriously. |
| Type 2 diabetes | Partly M | Travels alongside, possibly initiates. It shares obesity and insulin resistance with gallstones, and its independent role is less clear. | Reading gives no separate prevention step beyond managing weight and activity. |
Where the Evidence Is Weakest
Three rows rest on thinner evidence than the others. The physical activity row comes from a large cohort study, not a trial. It shows that active women had fewer gallbladder removals, but it cannot prove that activity caused the difference, and the outcome was surgery, not stones found on imaging (Leitzmann et al., 1999). The diabetes row is marked as travels alongside because diabetes and gallstones share so many other risk factors that separating diabetes's own effect is difficult. The prevention column for rapid weight loss is the strongest in the table, since it rests on a meta-analysis of randomized trials, but its authors noted that the findings were not confirmed when a more cautious sequential analysis was applied (Stokes et al., 2014).
What a Nurse Would Record About Risk
In a record, risk is documented as facts, not advice: the person's sex and age; pregnancies; current weight and any rapid weight loss, with how much over how long; planned or past bariatric surgery; periods of fasting or feeding by vein; activity level; family history of gallbladder disease; and diabetes. Recording rapid weight loss matters most, because it is the factor with the clearest preventive step, and the decision about that step belongs to the prescriber. This table is coursework on mechanisms; it is not guidance for any individual.
References
Lammert, F., Gurusamy, K., Ko, C. W., Miquel, J.-F., Méndez-Sánchez, N., Portincasa, P., van Erpecum, K. J., van Laarhoven, C. J., & Wang, D. Q.-H. (2016). Gallstones. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 2, Article 16024. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2016.24
Leitzmann, M. F., Rimm, E. B., Willett, W. C., Spiegelman, D., Grodstein, F., Stampfer, M. J., Colditz, G. A., & Giovannucci, E. (1999). Recreational physical activity and the risk of cholecystectomy in women. New England Journal of Medicine, 341(11), 777-784. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199909093411101
Stokes, C. S., Gluud, L. L., Casper, M., & Lammert, F. (2014). Ursodeoxycholic acid and diets higher in fat prevent gallbladder stones during weight loss: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 12(7), 1090-1100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2013.11.031
The Herzing NSG 120 Unit 7 instructions
Unit 7 asks you to build a table of risk factors and prevention for a condition, explaining how each factor works. Expect to describe the process, list factors with whether they are modifiable and the mechanism, note where evidence is weak and explain what a nurse records about risk. Many versions ask what counts as a relationship rather than a description and how precise a factor must be. Check whether your section requires prevention entries. Each row should say what the factor does to the process, not just that it is linked. Precision matters, such as rapid weight loss rather than weight. Name weak evidence honestly. Recording should be factual.
Inside the NSG 120 Unit 7 example
The table opens with the process in a paragraph, naming the three steps that must happen for stones to form. The table lists each factor with a mark for modifiable or not and a sentence on the mechanism, such as estrogen raising cholesterol secretion into bile. The weak evidence section names three rows that rest on limited studies. The recording section lists facts a nurse would document. Each mechanism ties back to one of the three steps, which makes the table a set of explanations rather than a list. The table is compact and could serve as a study tool or a reference beside an assessment form.
NSG 120 Unit 7 rubric: what full points look like
Herzing's rubric for a risk factor table usually covers the description of the process, accuracy of mechanisms, classification of factors, evidence quality, nursing recording and presentation. Accuracy of mechanisms draws the closest reading, since graders want each factor linked to a step in stone formation. Process points reward a clear account of how stones form. Classification criteria look for correct modifiable and unmodifiable labels with reasons. Evidence points go to honest notes on weak rows. Recording earns credit for factual documentation. Graders also check that prevention entries match modifiable factors, since unmodifiable ones cannot be prevented. A key explaining the marks is often credited under presentation. Lammert's Nature Reviews article and Leitzmann's physical activity cohort should appear in APA 7.
NSG 120 Unit 7 help: mistakes that cost points
A Unit 7 risk table often falls short by listing factors without mechanisms. Another frequent problem is vague factors, such as obesity without noting that rapid weight loss also raises risk. Students often mislabel factors as modifiable. Weak evidence is presented as strong. Recording turns into advice. The process is not explained, so mechanisms have nothing to attach to. The table lacks a key. Finally, tie each factor to a step in the process, because graders reward a table that explains why each factor matters rather than one that only names it. Another gap is forgetting pregnancy and estrogen therapy, which are among the strongest factors for women. Ethnicity can matter too, since some groups have higher rates.
Get a NSG 120 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 7 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 120 classroom, with the condition the table has to cover. We write a custom example that states the relationship in every row, keeps association labeled honestly, sources the prevention column and discusses the rows where the evidence is thin. First custom sample free, returned in 24 to 48 hours.
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NSG 120 Unit 7 questions, answered
What counts as a relationship rather than a description?
A relationship says how the factor acts on the process: whether it starts it, speeds it, makes recovery less likely, or simply appears alongside it. A description says what the factor is. If your middle column could be pasted into a different condition's table without changing, it is describing rather than relating, and that is where the marks go missing.
How precise does a risk factor have to be?
Precise enough that somebody could tell whether a patient has it. Family history on its own is rarely enough, while a stated relative and condition is checkable. The same applies to habits and exposures, where an amount or a duration turns a vague entry into one your relationship column can actually explain. Follow whatever form your reading uses.
Can prevention entries come from public health sources?
Yes, and they often should, provided the source is named and current and you say what population it applies to. Recommendations are revised, and a guideline quoted without a date can be out of step by the time the paper is read. Check the version your course supplies first, since sections sometimes work from a specific edition.
Where can I find a free NSG 120 Unit 7 sample paper?
The full NSG 120 Unit 7 gallstone risk table is on this page free of charge, every factor with its mechanism and the weak evidence named. A table for a different condition can be written on request.
Why does rapid weight loss cause gallstones?
It increases cholesterol in bile and slows gallbladder emptying, so crystals form and stay. This sample explains that mechanism and the others in a risk table for cholesterol gallstones.