Causes of kidney stone
Kidney stones may form due to a variety of factors that alter the concentration of urine resulting in crystallization of the substances that are normally excreted.
The kidney stones have been classified into about five types based on their composition and are associated with various disorders accordingly.
Hypercalciuria: In majority of the cases (about 60–80%) the kidney stones contain calcium oxalate, phosphate or both and result from certain underlying disorders such as hypercalciuria (increased amount of calcium in the urine) or may occur without any obvious cause.
Bacterial infection: Bacterial infection results in the formation of stones in about 10–15% of the individuals and the stones are composed of struvite.
Hyper uricemia and hyper uricosuria: Certain disorders such as hyper uricemia and hyper uricosuria wherein the kidney stones are composed of uric acid contribute to another 5–10% of the cases.1,2
Some of the factors that have been associated with an increased incidence of kidney stones include:
- Family history of kidney stones
- History of disorders such as hypertension, primary hyperparathyroidism, gout
- Structural abnormality of the urinary tract
- Consumption of drugs such as triamterene, indinavir and acetazolamide
These factors may influence the urine volume, its concentration and the ratio of stone inhibiting factors (certain proteins) to the stone forming factors thereby resulting in the formation of stones in the kidney.3,4
Next page: Signs and symptoms of kidney stone
Written by: Healthplus24 team
Date last modified: April 16, 2012