Kidney Stones Are on the Rise: What You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk! Family Health

Have you heard of how painful kidney stones can be? Kidney stones affect about 10 percent of population, and they are caused by pieces of material that crystallize in the kidney, ureters or bladder due to a number of genetic and environmental factors. There are increased cases of kidney stones, as seen in a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic. Based on records of more than 7,200 residents of Olmsted County, Minn., who were diagnosed with kidney stones for the first time between 1984 and 2012, it was found that: 

• Women, especially those 18 to 39 years old, developed stones more often than men. It was reported to increased from 62 to 252 cases from 1984 to 2012.
• Bladder stones were less common than kidney stones, but more common in men.

The overall increase in the cases of kidney stones could be due to increased use of CT scans for the past 30 years, thus more likely to diagnose the stones. Here's what you can do to reduce your risk of developing a kidney stone: 

• Drink more water, at least 2 to 3 quarts of per day.
• Reduce salt intake.
• Eat less meat.

Given how painful kidney stones are, we have more reasons to drink enough water daily!

Read more about this kidney stone study via WebMD.

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