Can kidney stones lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD)?

Can kidney stones lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD)?

Why is this important?

Kidney stones (also called nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis) are very common, affecting approximately 1 in 5 males and 1 in 10 females by age 70 years.

Kidney stones are not known to be a common cause of CKD. But it is unknown whether there is a link, i.e. do kidney stones make CKD more common?

This recent Korean study by Kim (2024) aimed to investigate a possible association between kidney stones and CKD.

This study compared 219,570 Korean adults with kidney stones (requiring surgical intervention) with 219,570 age- and sex-matched controls without stones.

Over a mean follow-up of 6 years, patients with kidney stones were associated with a 1.4x higher risk of CKD.

If you have had a kidney stone (with surgical treatment required to remove the stone), this study suggests that routine monitoring of your kidney function may be useful in the long-term.

Note. It is not known whether having a single kidney stone (that passes, i.e. the common scenario) makes CKD any more likely.

Summary

We have discussed whether kidney stones can lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD). We hope it has been helpful.

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