Risk Factors Associated With Nephrolithiasis

Abstract

Nephrolithiasis is a multifactorial disease. The authors conducted a case-control study in China to explore its associated risk factors. A total of 725 nephrolithiasis patients and 553 controls were asked to complete a questionnaire that asked for information about psychological, behavioral, and dietary factors along with a physical and blood biochemical examination. For men, higher education was negatively associated with nephrolithiasis (odds ratio [OR] = 0.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.4-1.0), whereas hypso-waist-to-hip ratio (hypso-WHR), defined as WHRs >0.9 for men and >0.8 for women (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.4-3.4); overexercise (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.3-3.5); and having experienced negative life events (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.2-4.1) were positively associated with nephrolithiasis. For women, higher fluid intake was negatively associated with nephrolithiasis (OR = 0.6; 95% CI = 0.3-0.9), and abnormal status of blood pressure (BP) and blood lipids was positively associated with nephrolithiasis. Varied factors were related to differences in nephrolithiasis occurrence between genders. Besides taking enough fluids, maintaining a normal metabolic status, avoiding overexercise, and reducing BP might be beneficial in preventing nephrolithiasis.