Climate crisis will lead to surge in kidney stones, study warns

A US study suggests the worsening climate crisis could result in an uptick in incidences of kidney stones in coming decades as temperatures warm. Prior research found high ambient temperatures increase the risk of developing kidney stones. In the US, there is an increase in the incidence of kidney stones from north to south, and there is a rapid increase in the risk of kidney stone presentations following hot days. The researchers said despite this rise, previous studies have not projected how the climate crisis will impact the burden of kidney stones in the future. They then used that data to forecast the heat-related number of kidney stones and associated costs to the year 2089 based on projected daily temperatures under two climate change scenarios.