Urinary bladder stones can be a significant problem in some developing countries, especially in poor children.
This problem may be referred to endemic bladder stones because of the prevalence in the population. A bladder stone "belt" extends from the Middle East to India, Thailand and Indonesia.
The most common risk factor appears to be dietary. Other contributory factors may include a failure to detect urinary tract obstruction due to posterior urethral valves or other urinary tract malformations.
Dietary risk factors for bladder stones:
(1) little or no dairy intake (in children)
(2) single type of cereal making up a large part of the diet from the group of wheat, rice or millet
(3) possibly low calcium intake with hypocalciuria
Dietary factors not associated with bladder stones
(1) maize as the core dietary cereal
(2) mixture of different cereals
To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.
