A significant increase in the prevalence of kidney stones has been observed worldwide. In the past decades, this expansion was more pronounced among women than men. The precise mechanisms involved in the differences in the risk profile of stone disease between men and women have not been fully elucidated. Diet and lifestyle only partially can explain the differences, and the combination of factors such as the influence of sex hormones, genetics, and disorders in acid-base handling and urine pH, as well as differences in calcium tubular reabsorption and stone composition in men and women, may contribute to differences in the risk profile. In this review, we summarize the sex differences in the pathophysiologic basis of kidney stones, which may contribute to a more focused approach.
Seminars in nephrology. 2022 Mar [Epub]
Pietro Manuel Ferraro, Tamara da Silva Cunha, Gary C Curhan
U.O.S. Terapia Conservativa della Malattia Renale Cronica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Dipartimento Universitario di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: ., Nephrology Division, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil., Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.