How common are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are quite common, especially in men.
Men are three times more likely to get stones than women. About 12 in every 100 men will get kidney stones during their lifetime, compared with 4 in every 100 women.1
Stones can happen at any age. But you're most likely to get them when you're 30 to 60 years old.2
White people are more likely to get kidney stones than Asian people, and Asian people are more likely to get them than black people.3
The number of people with kidney stones seems to be going up. In the late 1970s, slightly more than 3 in every 100 adults between the ages of 20 and 74 had kidney stones. This rose to slightly more than 5 in 100 in the late 1980s and early 1990s.4 No one knows why.
Sources for the information on this page:
- Leslie SW. Nephrolithiasis: acute renal colic. Emedicine 2005.
- Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Renal Unit. Kidney stones. July 2006. Available at http://renux.dmed.ed.ac.uk/edren/EdRenINFOhome.html (accessed on 7 Jnauary 2008).
- Portis JA, Sundaram CP. Diagnosis and initial management of kidney stones. American Family Physician. 2001; 63: 1329-1338. 11310648
- National Kidney and Urologic Disease Information Clearinghouse. Kidney and urologic diseases statistics for the United States. April 2006. Available at http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/kustats (accessed on 7 January 2008).
This information was last updated in Jul 25, 2008
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This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved. |
