Increases in climate temperature may lead to an increase in kidney stones, according to a new study from researchers at the Kidney Stone Center as well as the Hospital's Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness (CPCE) within the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
For the study the researchers linked weather patterns with fluctuations in kidney stone diagnoses between 2005 and 2011. They found that kidney stone cases were significantly more likely to occur on days in which the temperature was above 50 degrees (F).
"These findings point to potential public health effects associated with global climate change," the researchers explained. "Although 11 percent of the U.S. population has had kidney stones, most people have not. It is likely that higher temperatures increase the risk of kidney stones in those people predisposed to stone formation."
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