Epidemiology of Kidney Stones in the United States

Abstract

The pathophysiology of nephrolithiasis has been elucidated over time through the epidemiologic study of this complex disease process. The prevalence of kidney stones has increased throughout the late twentieth and into the twenty-first century, potentially attributable to a variety of factors including environmental changes, alterations in dietary intake, and the increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its associated comorbidities. With the increased recognition and burden of stone disease, the costs to our healthcare system have also risen. In-depth analyses of large observational cohorts have been instrumental in our current understanding of how demographics, dietary intake, genetic and environmental factors, and chronic medical conditions all influence the risk of nephrolithiasis occurrence and recurrence.