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Updated epidemiologic study of urolithiasis in Turkey. I: Changing characteristics of urolithiasis

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Abstract

The worldwide prevalence and epidemiologic characteristics of urolithiasis appear to have changed in the last decade. This study aims to update the current understanding of the disease in Turkey. A representative sample, totalling 2,468 participants between 18 and 70 years of age from 33 Turkish provinces, was enrolled in this cross-sectional study conducted with a professional market investigation company. Participants were evaluated with face-to-face interviews by medical students using a standard questionnaire. Of the 2,468 participants, 274 (11.1%) reported a history of urinary stone disease diagnosed by a physician and an additional 52 (2.1%) had at least one lifetime episode of colic pain. The annual incidence of urolithiasis in 2008 was 1.7%. The male:female ratio was 1:1 in participants with urolithiasis. A family history of urolithiasis was found in 28.5% of the first-degree relatives of the stone formers, compared to 4.4% of the first-degree relatives of the stone-free participants (p = 0.01). Compared to other ethnic groups, the population of Turkish origin had a statistically significant decreased risk of urolithiasis (p = 0.006). Though not statistically significant (p > 0.05), urolithiasis showed a trend toward a geographical distribution within the country, in which southeastern Anatolia and the Aegean regions had higher frequencies compared to the Black Sea, and central Anatolian and eastern Anatolian regions. Urinary stone disease is a severe problem in Turkey, with high prevalence and incidence rates, which differ significantly between ethnic groups. Moreover, current findings demonstrate a demographic shift, with an increased prevalence of stone disease in female subjects.

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Acknowledgments

The study was fully supported by the Turkish Urological Association.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Haseki Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ahmet Yaser Muslumanoglu, Murat Binbay, Emrah Yuruk, Tolga Akman, Abdulkadir Tepeler & Ahmet Hamdi Tefekli

  2. Department of Urology, Istanbul University Istanbul Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey

    Tarik Esen

Authors
  1. Ahmet Yaser Muslumanoglu
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  2. Murat Binbay
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  3. Emrah Yuruk
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  4. Tolga Akman
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  5. Abdulkadir Tepeler
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  6. Tarik Esen
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  7. Ahmet Hamdi Tefekli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ahmet Yaser Muslumanoglu.

Appendix

Appendix

  1. 1.

    There is a disorder called urolithiasis. This encompasses kidney stones, bladder stones and stones located in the renal duct. Gallstones are excluded. Have you ever had experience with urolithiasis diagnosed by a physician or have you ever had experience with interventions performed for urolithiasis? (Question to assess definitive urolithiasis).

  2. 2.

    Have you ever had experience with sudden onset of intermittent pain, not improved by changes in position, radiating from the back, down the flank and into the groin, with associated haematuria? (Question to assess possible urolithiasis).

Further questions followed, but only when urolithiasis had been diagnosed by a physician:

  1. 3.

    Did you have urinary stones for the first time in 2008, or had you had them before?

  2. 4.

    How old were you when your doctor first diagnosed urinary stones?

  3. 5.

    How often have you had this disorder prior to the year 2009?

  4. 6.

    Was urolithiasis diagnosed by a doctor when you had symptoms or incidentally at another time?

  5. 7.

    Have you ever had experience with spontaneous stone passage?

  6. 8.

    How was your urolithiasis treated?

    • Using shock waves lithotripsy

    • Using endoscopic procedures

    • Surgically

  7. 9.

    Do you have persons with urolithiasis in your family?

  8. 10.

    What are you yourself doing to prevent recurrence?

    • I drink a lot

    • I have reorganised my diet

    • I drink the juice of some plants

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Muslumanoglu, A.Y., Binbay, M., Yuruk, E. et al. Updated epidemiologic study of urolithiasis in Turkey. I: Changing characteristics of urolithiasis. Urol Res 39, 309–314 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00240-010-0346-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00240-010-0346-6

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