Urology

Disease-related Contributors to Kidney Stones

Refer to the table below to learn of some of the major diseases associated with kidney stones. While not every person with one of the conditions listed gets kidney stones, those with any of the conditions may benefit from stone prevention strategies.

Disease/condition	Stone type	Mechanism
Hypercalcemia	Calcium	Results in hypercalciuria
Hyperthyroidism	Calcium	Causes excessive loss of calcium from bone, which results in hypercalciuria
Hyperparathyroidism	Calcium	May result in hypercalciuria
Sarcoidosis	Calcium	Causes excessive absorption of calcium in the GI tract, resulting in hypercalciuria
Sjogrens syndrome	Calcium	May cause renal tubular acidosis, which decreases the amount of citrate (a stone inhibitor) in the urine
Crohns and other bowel disease, especially those accompanied by malabsorption	Calcium, uric acid	May cause excessive absorption of oxalate in the GI tract (leading to hyperoxalauria); metabolic acidosis (leading to hypocitraturia); excessive fluid losses from diarrhea (leading to dehydration and supersaturation of stone constituents in urine)
Insulin resistance	Calcium, uric acid	Leads to mishandling of ammonia, which acidifies the urine and promotes stones
Acquired renal tubular acidosis	Calcium	Induces hypocitraturia
Gout	Uric acid	Promotes hyperuricosuria (excessive amount of uric acid in the urine)
Osteoporosis/osteopenia	Calcium	Calcium release from bone results in hypercalciuria
Obesity/overweight	Calcium, uric acid	May promote hypercalciuria, hyperuricosuria and hyperoxaluria
Hypertension	Calcium, uric acid	May promote hyperuricosuria and hypercalciuria
Anorexia/bulimia	Calcium, uric acid	Excessive and/or rapid weight loss may result in hyperuricosuria, bone loss leading to hypercalciuria and muscle tissue and potassium losses, leading to acid urine
Chronic urinary tract infections	Struvite, calcium phosphate	Certain types of bacteria, if they overcolonize the urinary tract, cause urinary pH to rise (become alkaline) and cause a buildup of ammonium in the urine
Malignancy	Calcium	Some cancers cause hypercalemia, which results in hypercalciuria
Neurogenic disorders that cause urine retention in kidney or bladder	Struvite, calcium phospate	May prevent urine from being eliminated, causing bacterial colonization and leading to alkaline urine and high ammonium
Being bedridden	Calcium	Increases calcium release from bone, resulting in hypercalciuria

Kidney Stones