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By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) — The number of Americanssuffering from kidney stones has almost doubled since 1994,researchers report, and the obesity epidemic is the most likelyreason why. About one in 11 Americans now develops kidney stones, according toscientists from the University of California, Los Angeles and RANDCorp. In contrast, only one in 20 Americans developed kidney stonesback in 1994, they noted. "Kidney stones are becoming a very common health condition inthe United States," said lead researcher Dr. Charles ScalesJr., a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/U.S. Department of VeteransAffairs clinical scholar in the David Geffen School of Medicinedepartments of urology and medicine at UCLA. They are more commonthan heart disease, stroke and diabetes, he added. A kidney stone is like any small rock, Scales said."It's an accumulation of crystals of substances thatare dissolved in urine and for reasons that are not wellunderstood, form rocks," he explained. Kidney stones are acondition that results from risks associated with diet andlifestyle. "People with a history of kidney stones also are more likelyto have histories of diabetes, obesity and gout," he said. Usually, severe pain is the first sign of a stone, Scales said, andas many as 50 percent of people who develop a first kidney stonedevelop others. "To prevent stones from forming, the most important thingsare diet and lifestyle interventions such as drinking plenty offluids, eating a low animal-protein diet and having only a moderateamount of salt," Scales pointed out. The finding was presented this week at the American UrologicalAssociation meeting in Atlanta and published in the July issue ofthe journal European Urology. For the study, Scales' team used data from the U.S. NationalHealth and Nutrition Examination Survey to identify the rate ofkidney stones in the United States. The substantial increase in kidney stone cases is most likely dueto increases in obesity, diabetes and gout, which are risk factorsfor the condition, the researchers said. Dr. Brian Matlaga, an associate professor of urology at JohnsHopkins University School of Medicine and author of an accompanyingjournal editorial, commented that "between 1994 and 2010, theincrease in kidney stones was just about 63 percent, which isreally a staggering increase when one thinks about it." Matlaga added, "We are beginning to recognize that kidneystones are a systemic condition, and are associated with otherdisorders such as diabetes and obesity that have significant healthimplications." In addition, there is a need for research toidentify the causes of kidney stones and better ways to preventthem, he noted. "Over the past decades, we have not seen great advances innon-surgical treatments for [kidney] stone disease," Matlagasaid. "Kidney stones are increasing at a great rate, and althoughwe have classically thought of a kidney stone as ‘just akidney stone,' this disorder should probably be viewed as asystemic disease and associated with other important diseases suchas diabetes and obesity, both of which can have a deleteriouseffect on our patients' health," he suggested. Dr. Arthur Smith, chairman emeritus of urology at North Shore-LIJHealth System in Lake Success, N.Y., said he was not surprised bythe finding. "Obesity plays a very big role in stone formation. Thebiggest problem is that people who are obese tend to have more saltand animal protein in their diet, and this predisposes them tostone formation," Smith said. Usually, the first sign of a kidney stone is pain. Kidney stonescan cause severe pain or infection or both, and both result inpain, he explained. Current treatment for kidney stones varies by the size and locationof the stone and its consistency, he noted. Stones can be removedsurgically or through shock waves that are applied outside thekidney to break up the stone, Smith said. To prevent further stones, the best advice is to alter one'slifestyle, he noted. This includes a low-salt and low-meat diet aswell as drinking a lot of water or lemonade. Lemonade is high incitrate, and citrate limits stone formation, he added. More information For more information on kidney stones, visit the National Kidney Foundation . SOURCES: Charles D. Scales Jr., M.D., Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinical scholar,departments of urology and medicine, David Geffen School ofMedicine, University of California, Los Angeles; Brian Matlaga,M.D., M.P.H., associate professor, urology, Johns HopkinsUniversity School of Medicine, Baltimore; Arthur Smith, M.D.,chairman emeritus, urology, North Shore-LIJ Health System, LakeSuccess, N.Y.; May 23, 2012 presentation, American UrologicalAssociation meeting, Atlanta; July 2012, European Urology Last Updated: May 25, 2012 Copyright 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Symbol Pocket PC Scanner Manufacturer , Rugged Tablet PCS for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Portable Data Terminals.
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