Stone disease is a fairly common disorder affecting 1 to 5% of people in industrialized countries. If you ask the question, "Have you ever had a kidney stone?", about 10% of men and 4% of women will say yes. The prevalence of stone disease also depends on such things as age and race. Stones are most common from the third to sixth decades of life. African-American, Hispanic, and Asian men have a lower lifetime prevalence of forming stones than white men. There is also a climate and geographical variability to stone disease. Warmer, humid, sunny weather predisposes individuals to dehydration and an increased lifetime prevalence of stones. The highest lifetime prevalence of stones is in the Southeast, an area of the country known as the Stone Belt, and the lowest in the Northwest.
There are several different types of stones that form in people. Below is a chart of the most common stones found in the kidney and ureter and their incidence.
We are now able to elucidate the many causes of kidney stones. The easiest way to understand how stones form is to divide stones into two groups-- those made up of calcium (the most common) and those made of other substances.
To find out more about calcium stones and noncalcium stones, including all the different types, why they form, and how you are affected, click on the pictures or phrases below.
Calcium stones Noncalcium stones