Who Is Affected By Kidney Stones?

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Who is affected by kidney stones?

Kidney stones are common: ^{1, 2}

• About 8 to 10 out of every 100 (8% to 10%) Americans have a kidney stone at some time during their lives.
• Men have stones 2 times more often than women.
• Kidney stones are more common in people between the ages of 30 and 50.
• A family history of kidney stones makes them more likely.
• People living in mountainous, desert, or tropical areas have kidney stones more often than those in other geographic areas.

Almost half of all people who develop kidney stones will develop more stones within 5 years unless they take preventive measures. ¹

References

Citations

1. Engineer R, Peacock WF IV (2004). Urologic stone disease. In JE Tintinalli et al., eds., Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 6th ed., pp. 620–625. New York: McGraw-Hill.

2. Parmar MS (2004). Kidney stones. BMJ, 328(7453): 1420–1424.

Credits

Last updated:	May 30, 2007
Author:	Monica Rhodes
Reviewed By:	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine, Philip Belitsky, MD, FRCSC - Urology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman