Kidney stones typically affect older adults, but increasingly, children are presenting with the condition, according to research and accounts from physicians.
"We see, everyday, children presenting with kidney stones," Zachary Zuniga, MD, pediatric urologist at Texas Children's in Houston, told The Washington Post in a Jan. 2 report. "The thought is that kids don't get stones," he said. "That's like, the last thing you may think about when a child has pain somewhere as a symptom."
The Post cited a study published in 2016 found the incidence of kidney stones among teens in South Carolina increased from 1997 to 2012. Over a five-year period in that window, incidence jumped 28% for girls and 23% for boys. Some experts anticipate the trend will worsen, given the prevalence of diets high in sodium and ultra-processed foods.
"There is so much added salt to the American diet today, and when the kidney is excreting the sodium, it pulls calcium with it and increases the risk of calcium-based stones," John Weiner, MD, a pediatric urologist at Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health, told the Post.
Treating the condition often centers on pain management with medications and in some cases, surgery. Dr. Zuniga said some children with the diagnosis are frequent emergency department visitors.
The Post also noted that in 2009, hospitals charged approximately $375 million for inpatient and ED services to treat pediatric patients with kidney stones, according to data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample.