Background

A body of evidence establishes that the occurrence of kidney stone disease has increased in some communities of industrialized countries. Information on recent temporal trends in the United States is lacking and population-based data on epidemiologic patterns are limited.

Study objective was to determine whether kidney stone disease prevalence increased in the United States over a 20-year period and the influence of region, race/ethnicity, and gender on stone disease risk.

Methods

We measured the prevalence of kidney stone disease history from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (II and III), population-based, cross-sectional studies, involving 15,364 adult United States residents in 1976 to 1980 and 16,115 adult United States residents in 1988 to 1994.

Results

Disease prevalence among 20- to 74-year-old United States residents was greater in 1988 to 1994 than in 1976 to 1980 (5.2% vs. 3.8%, P < 0.05), greater in males than females, and increased with age in each time period. Among 1988 to 1994 adults, non-Hispanic African Americans had reduced risk of disease compared to non-Hispanic Caucasians (1.7% vs. 5.9%, P < 0.05), and Mexican Americans (1.7% vs. 2.6%, P < 0.05). Also, age-adjusted prevalence was highest in the South (6.6%) and lowest in the West (3.3%). Findings were consistent across gender and multivariate adjusted odds ratios for stone disease history, including all demographic variables, as well as diuretic use, tea or coffee consumption, and dietary intake of calcium, protein, and fat did not materially change the results.

Conclusion

Prevalence of kidney stone disease history in the United States population increased between 1980 and 1994. A history of stone disease was strongly associated with race/ethnicity and region of residence.