Kidney stones are a very common problem in the world population. However, in most situations, people turn to the urologist in Noida only when they complicate, that is, give the infamous colic. What are the risk factors for its formation or what is its frequency in the population?
Let us gradually understand more about kidney stones.
Epidemiology
Primarily, to justify your attention in the next few paragraphs, I would like to point out that 10-15% of people have kidney stones. So one in 7-10 people has or has had kidney stones. You probably know someone.
Risk factors
First of all, let’s talk about who is most at risk of developing kidney stones.
- Gender: men have more kidney stones than women in the 2-3: 1 ratio. However, black men have fewer calculations than black women – 0.65: 1.
- Race: whites have more calculations than Hispanics, Asians and blacks – these have a frequency that corresponds to 44% of that of whites.
- Age: calculus is uncommon before age 20 and its peak incidence is between 40 and 60 years.
- Geography: hot and dry climates such as mountains, deserts and tropical regions, in fact, lead to a higher occurrence of kidney stones.
- Occupation: professions with exposure to high temperatures such as cooks or steelmakers. Studies show that in these professions the volume of urine is lower, the pH of the urine is lower, there are higher levels of uric acid and higher density in the urine. Certainly, as we will see later, these factors predispose the formation of renal lithiasis. In addition, stones are more common in people with sedentary professions.
- Weight and Body Mass Index (BMI): being overweight can be something more complex than we think. Being overweight leads to lower urinary pH and the formation of uric acid stones. This effect is more pronounced in women.
- Fluid intake: although it is highly publicized, it is worth emphasizing this information. Drinking liquid to be able to urinate at least 2L per day decreases stone formation. In order to demonstrate this, Borghi et al. Carried out a study and compared the recurrence of calculi in patients who received and did not receive instructions to increase fluid intake. Oriented persons had a recurrence rate of 12% and non-oriented persons, 27%.
What is the composition of kidney stones?
The calculations have different compositions and, as I will show, this has implications for the patient.
Calcium Calculations
The most common kidney stones are those that contain calcium. As such, they make up more than 80% of lithiasis. Are they:
- Calculations of Calcium Oxalate (60%) – Monohydrates and Dihydrates.
- Calcium Phosphate (22%) – Apatite and Bruxite
Calcium-free calculations
Calculations that do not contain calcium are
- Magnesian Ammonium Phosphate – Struvite (7%)
- Uric Acid (7%)
- Cystine (1-3%)
- The rest are less than 1%
Knowing the composition of the stones makes a difference in your diagnosis, kidney stone treatment in Noida and follow-up.
In conclusion, we do not want to simply deal with the calculation that is giving you pain now. Not only do we want you to get rid of your renal colic, but also, in the long run, have a life without remembering it. We hope to increasingly prevent and mitigate the impacts of calculations on people’s lives.