Prevalence and trends of urolithiasis among adults

The purpose of this article is to review and synthesize the current literature on the epidemiology of urolithiasis.

The global patterns of urolithiasis are changing, as the prevalence of urolithiasis appears to be increasing across the world. Geographical variation in the prevalence of urolithiasis is noted across countries and within each country. Although urolithiasis is more common among men and white race, recent data suggests a more prominent rise in the prevalence among women and African Americans. Yet, no conclusive explanations for these phenomena are reported so far.

Urolithiasis is a highly prevalent condition with an increasing prevalence among women as compared with men closing the gender gap in urolithiasis. Further studies are needed to identify the potential causes for this observation.