NEPHROLITHIASIS - Assignment Example

NEPHROLITHIASIS Nephrolithiasis Some diseases occur in adults only while others occur in both adults and children. The kidney is one of the organs in the body that is affected by various diseases in both young and old population. One of the common conditions that affect kidney is nephrolithiasis also known as kidney stones or renal calculi (Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, 2015). It occurs when increased amount of substances build up in the kidneys forming a stone (Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, 2015).

Some stone formation may be caused by diseases, but the majority occurs due to diet and nutrition. There are various types of kidney stones based on specific risk factors (Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, 2015). The condition is characterized commonly by severe pain in the lower back and also painful urination. The paper will discuss the risk factors for kidney stones including cultural considerations as well as other risk factors.There are various risk factors for nephrolithiasis. The factors contribute significantly to the development of the disease.

One of the significant risk factors is gender and age. The condition is found to be most common in men as compared to women. The risk increases in men as they reach 40 years and continues to rise until 70 years (Simon, 2013). Hence, as men age, there is increased the risk of developing the condition. In women, the risk is high at 50 years while in young age the condition may develop at the last stage of pregnancy (Simon, 2013). In children, the risk is mainly due to genetic factors. However, it may occur due to deformity in the urinary tract as well as in those children born with low weight and are fed through veins (Simon, 2013).

The other risk factor is obesity and weight gain. The two have been associated with an increased danger of developing the condition. It has been found that individuals with higher BMIs and large waist have high chances of developing the disease (Simon, 2013). Such people are said to excrete a large amount of calcium and uric acid that raises the risk of getting the condition. The other risk factor is a family history. The presence of the condition in a family means there is increased chances of it occurring among the relatives (Simon, 2013).

The geographical factor is another factor. For example, geography may determine the mineral constituents in local water. This may explain increased or reduced incidences of the condition.Moreover, diet is also another main risk factor for the condition. Various types of food have been associated with increased chances of getting the condition. In fact, dietary advice has been found crucial in preventing the disease. High protein diets have been shown to increase the risk of getting the condition.

Such diet increases urinary calcium and decreases the urinary secretion of citrate (Nouvenne, Ticinesi, Morelli, Guid, Borghi &Meschi, 2014). On the other hand, cultural diversity has been associated with increased risk factors. There is a significant difference in prevalence of the disease between various races. Statistics shows a difference between races in any given country. For example, some data shows that white men have high number of people getting the condition (Romero, Akpinar & Assimos, 2010).

At the same time, Caucasians shows high prevalence rate for the disease while African-American shows reduced incidence rate (Simon, 2013). ReferencesJohns Hopkins Children’s Center. (2015). Nephrolithiasis. Retrieved from http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/nephrolithiasis.aspx.Nouvenne, A., Ticinesi, A., Morelli, I., Guid, L., Borghi, L & Meschi, T. (2014). Fad diets and their effect on urinary stone formation. Transl Androl Urol, 3(3), 303-312. Retrieved from http://www.amepc.org/tau/article/viewFile/4026/4946.Romero, V., Akpinar, H & Assimos, D. (2010). Kidney Stones: A Global Picture of Prevalence, Incidence, and Associated Risk Factors.

Rev Urol, 12(2-3). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2931286/.Simon, H. (2013). Health Guide: Kidney Stones. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/kidney-stones/risk-factors.html.