This is another obvious danger of modern life. More and more children are developing kidney stones. of washington post Dive into unexpected trends. Although the data being shared is somewhat dated (a 2016 study that looked at teens ages 15 to 19 in South Carolina between 1997 and 2012 found that the incidence of kidney stones was 23% higher for boys). %, and a 28% increase in girls), anecdotes abound. A pediatric urologist at Texas Children’s Hospital said he sees “kids with kidney stones” every day. Gregory Tashian, a pediatric urologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, calls the changes over the past 30 years “dramatic.”
Hard deposits of minerals and salts that can get stuck in the urinary tract were historically thought to be a problem that plagued middle-aged white men. There are various theories as to the cause of this change, including genetics, ultra-processed foods, increased sodium intake, and dehydration. “Today’s American diet has so much added salt that when the kidneys excrete sodium, it pulls in calcium with it, increasing the risk of calcium-based stones,” Duke Health Pediatrics says. says urologist John Wiener. of post point out that all but 10% of children between the ages of 6 and 18 consume nearly 150% of the recommended amount of sodium each day.
Another burgeoning theory is that climate change factors are involved. David Sass, a pediatric nephrologist at the Mayo Clinic, said his research shows a link between kidney stones and “urban heat islands,” or less green space and resulting higher temperatures in densely populated urban areas. He said that it shows that. 2023 NBC News Articles about the changes support the idea that heat may be playing a role, with doctors the magazine spoke to saying children tend to sweat more and urinate less. It points out that children are most likely to be infected in the summer. According to the National Kidney Foundation, 1 in 10 Americans will experience a kidney stone in their lifetime. (There’s more on kidney stones.)
