ORLANDO, Fla.—Patients with metabolic disorders are more likely to develop uric acid stones than other types, and arteriosclerotic diseases and hyperuricemia strongly predict the presence of these stones, researchers reported here at the American Urological Association annual meeting.
The study, by Japanese researchers, looked at 432 patients with renal or ureteral stones. Of these, 384 had calcium stones and 48 had stones containing uric acid. A total of 177 patients (44.4%) had mild obesity (BMI 25 kg/m2 or higher), 171 (39.6%) had lipid disorders, 175 (40.5%) had arteriosclerotic disease, 112 (25.9%) had hyperuricemia, and 75 (17.4%) had type 2 diabetes.
Overall, 335 patients (77.5%) had at least one of these disorders. Arteriosclerotic diseases increased the risk twofold. Patients with hyperuricemia were three times as likely to have uric acid stones as patients without hyperuricemia. In addition, uric acid stones were three times as likely to occur in men as women and three times as likely to occur in men aged 56 years and older than in younger men.
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The investigators concluded that patients with uric acid stones should be screened for arteriosclerotic diseases.
