Obesity may raise risk of kidney stones

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Obesity may raise risk of kidney stones

Last Updated: 2004-04-16 13:15:08 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight individuals are more likely to

have more acidic urine, as measured by a lower urinary pH, along with an

increased risk of uric acid kidney stones, according to a new report

published in Kidney International.

Type 2 diabetics are more likely to develop uric acid kidney stones

compared with the general population of patients with kidney stones, the

authors point out, leading some to suggest that insulin resistance in

the kidneys leads to more acidic urine and uric acid stone formation.

In addition to its effect on glucose metabolism, excess insulin in the

kidneys may influence urinary acid excretion. This leads to abnormally

acidic urine, which precipitates and results in uric acid stones, study

co-author Dr. Khashayar Sakhaee told Reuters Health.

Sakhaee from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas,

and colleagues tested the hypothesis that urinary pH and body weight are

inversely related. They evaluated 4883 patients with kidney stones.

The researchers found that subjects with more acidic urine had higher

body weights, after excluding the effects of age and patient factors

that could affect urinary pH.

These findings suggest that insulin resistance may be one of the

important causes of gout and uric acid kidney stones, the investigators

conclude.

As an approach to treating uric acid kidney stones in obese patients,

Sakhaee added, " we are testing the effect of an oral insulin sensitizer

versus placebo. " This, he noted, will be " followed by a weight reduction

regimen. "

SOURCE: Kidney International, April 2004.

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