Thousands of children are affected by a painful condition that commonly affects the elderly… and the sinister reasons why
Kidney stones have long been considered a condition of the elderly, but doctors warn that this is rapidly changing.
They warn that thousands of children are affected by the painful condition, leaving them in excruciating pain for a few days to a few weeks.
In the past five years, the number of kidney stones has increased nationally increased by 28 percent for girls and 23 percent for boys aged 15 to 19.
But some hospitals, like those at the University of Michigan, have seen a 10 percent annual increase over the past decade, which they say represents “an epidemiological increase.”
A combination of disturbing factors is the cause. Doctors say food companies put more salt in their recipes, which makes the kidneys work harder, leading to more calcium in the urine that crystallizes into hard stones. An increase in generally unhealthy diets is also believed to be a factor.
Meanwhile, some doctors have linked rising temperatures to climate change, which they say is contributing to dehydration. When the body does not have enough fluids, less urine is excreted, making it more difficult for the kidneys to flush out toxins such as calcium.
Kidney stones are deposits of calcium minerals that accumulate in the urinary tract and migrate to the bladder to be passed out. This causes sharp pain in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, squeezing or stabbing when urinating, and possibly blood in the urine.
Dr. Kate Kraft, a pediatric urologist at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, said: ‘Some people say getting a kidney stone is the worst pain they’ve ever had.’
A 9-year-old gets an ultrasound at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to screen for kidney stones. He and his twin brother are under observation due to their mother’s history of kidney stones when she was young
Kidney stones are more common in people between 40 and 60 years old.
There are no reliable figures on the prevalence of kidney stones in the US because reporting methods vary, data is not always collected consistently, and people may be diagnosed or treated differently.
In addition, some people do not go to the doctor for small stones or pass them on themselves, making it even more difficult to detect them.
But doctors have consistently reported seeing a higher proportion of young patients since at least 1997.
Dr. Zachary V. Zuniga, a pediatric urologist at Texas Children’s Hospital, shared WashingtonPost: ‘Every day we see children with kidney stones.
‘The idea is that children are not given stones. That’s the last thing you think about when a child has pain as a symptom somewhere.’
Children are traditionally at such a low risk for kidney stones that many doctors miss the signs, causing children to suffer.
Many of the children who present to the emergency department with severe pain and blood in the urine are otherwise healthy, a significant difference from the older adults who generally develop kidney stones.
Dr. Gregory Tasian, a pediatric urologist at Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, checks for kidney stones in a nine-year-old patient
Older adults tend to be more susceptible to kidney stones for several reasons.
They are more likely to be overweight and obese, a major risk factor, and are more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems and high cholesterol.
People generally pass the stones while urinating, although doctors sometimes have to intervene surgically, using shock waves to break down the calcium deposits, using a thin tube through the urethra to remove the stone, or making a small incision in the back to delete. or break even bigger stones.
Doctors believe the main culprit is a poor diet, full of processed and sodium-rich foods, which can cause calcium to crystallize and build up in the urine, forming small hard rocks.
The average amount of sodium the average American consumes daily has remained relatively stable since the 1970s, at around 3,700 milligrams per day.
More than three-quarters of the salt people consume comes from ultra-processed foods, a growing share of the diets of millions of Americans. Salt-laden UPFs make up nearly 70 percent of the calories children and teens consume every day.
And more than 90 percent of children consume more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium per day, compared to the recommended 2,300 milligrams per day, or about one teaspoon.
When the body ingests too much sodium, the kidneys have to work harder to eliminate it by increasing calcium leakage into the urine to maintain balance.
Experts believe that high-sodium diets increase the number of hospitalized kidney stone cases
Extra calcium in the urine can combine with other substances such as oxalate or phosphate to form stones ranging in size from a grain of rice to the size of a grape.
The skyrocketing sodium intake coincided with an increase in the number of reported kidney stones, from 3.8 percent in the late 1970s to 8.8 percent in the late 2000s.
Annabelle Pleskoff, 25, suffered from kidney stones ten years ago. One morning on her way to school, she woke up with severe pain in her abdomen, which doctors at first thought was appendicitis.
They later learned that the Seattle resident had kidney stones for the first of what ended up being 30 times.
Growing up, her condition kept her from participating in activities she loved, including the swim team.
After learning the link between sodium and kidney stones, she followed a highly restrictive diet that plunged her into the depths of anorexia.
She said, “Just the idea that if I restricted my diet, I wouldn’t be in as much pain, and I would end up restricting a little too much and not eating enough to keep my body healthy.”
Ms. Pleskoff was otherwise healthy when she first developed painful kidney stones, with no known genetic predisposition, which doctors increasingly believe also plays a role.
At age 25, Annabelle Pleskoff recalls her first episode of kidney stones at age 15. What doctors initially thought was appendicitis turned out to be kidney stones, marking the start of 30 such cases over the years.
An estimated 40 percent of kidney stones are caused by inherited genetic traits.
Some of the genetic conditions known to cause kidney stones include cystinuria, which causes an excess of cystine (an amino acid) to be excreted in the urine, leading to the formation of stones, and hypocitraturia, which results in lower levels of citrate in the urine and reduces the natural ability to prevent stone formation.
Other genetic conditions include hypercalciuria, which causes elevated calcium levels in the urine and promotes the development of calcium oxalate stones, and enteric hyperoxaluria, which occurs when intestinal diseases cause excess oxalate to be excreted in the urine, combining with calcium to form calcium oxalate stones. .
Four-year-old Alex Zellers from Los Angeles was born with cystinuria. The condition led to frequent kidney stones, some of which grew to the size of a lacrosse ball. They were so large that they had to be surgically removed.
His mother Kate said: ‘It’s like a giant, compact egg. It’s just a big mass.’
Researchers also hypothesize that the ravages of climate change have contributed to the increase in the number of children plagued by this condition.
Kidney stones are more common in warmer, humid climates, where people are more likely to sweat and become dehydrated.
Alex (pictured) has suffered from painful kidney stones most of his life due to a genetic disease called cystinuria, which means his body cannot absorb certain amino acids
One stone in Alex’s kidney was the size of a golf ball, while the other in his bladder was the size of a lacrosse ball
In 2008, researchers in Texas suggested that a rise in global temperatures has led to the formation of a “kidney stone belt” in the southeastern US, where they are more common. And as temperatures continue to rise, the number of people affected will explode.
They estimate that by 2050, the percentage of the population living in areas at high risk for kidney stones will grow from 40 percent in 2000 to 70 percent in 2095.
They also predict an extra 1.6 to 2.2 million lifetime cases of kidney stones by 2050, with some regions seeing an increase of up to 30 percent.
Dr. Gregory Tasian, a pediatric urologist at Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, said: ‘With climate change we don’t often talk about the impact on human health, especially when it comes to children, but a warming planet will have significant impacts on human health.’
Doctors also argue that schools are not doing enough to encourage healthy habits that can prevent kidney stones, including allowing students to bring water bottles to stay hydrated during the day.
Dr. David Sas, a pediatric urologist at the Mayo Clinic, said: ‘Temperature, humidity plus nutrition equal stones.
‘I write a lot of letters saying that so-and-so should have free access to water and the toilet because of the risk of kidney stones.’
There is also compelling evidence pointing to an increase in the use of medically unnecessary antibiotics, which, Dr. Kraft said, “may actually affect the way the intestines absorb the minerals in the kidney stones and the amount of those minerals in the urine. ‘
Five types of oral antibiotics – sulfa drugs, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, nitrofurantoin and broad-spectrum penicillins – have been associated with a higher risk of kidney stones.
Dr. Tasian and other researchers analyzed the health records of 13 million people in Britain between 1994 and 2015. They compared about 26,000 patients with kidney stones with about 260,000 people without kidney stones.
Sulfa drugs more than doubled the risk, while broad-spectrum penicillins increased the risk by 27 percenteven after taking into account factors such as age, gender, urinary tract infections and other medications.
Children and teenagers were at the greatest risk, and although the risk decreased over time after taking antibiotics, it remained elevated for several years.
Dr. Tasian said that when a common and increasing condition is linked to antibiotic overuse, “it only adds weight to the importance of judicious and appropriate use of antibiotics.”