Epidemiology of Urinary Stone Disease in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Urolithiasis is a disorder which is recognised in every country in the world although its prevalence varies widely from one to another. The pattern of the disorder has altered with time, a process which is continuing even to this day. However, from a knowledge of this changing picture and of the parallel fluctuations occurring in suspected risk factors for stone-formation, it is possible to construct a hypothesis of what external factors are important in the etiology of stone-formation in the urinary tract. In this connection, several studies have been carried out in the past 10 years in some of the affluent states of the Arabian Gulf which have thrown light on some of the more important epidemiological and urinary risk factors which combine to make this region probably the most prolific area for stone formation in the world. In this study, we concentrate on the factors found to be of particular importance in Saudi Arabia.