A 7mm kidney stone

As the planet becomes warmer, there is a chance for kidney stones to become more prevalent, according to University of Texas at Dallas scientists.

This will happen as people lose more water through perspiration but fail to consume enough water to make up for the lost volume. The water loss will lead to higher urine concentrations — which in turn increases the risk of kidney stone formation.

The study report has been published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The lead scientist in the study got interested in the relationship between higher climate temperatures and the formation of kidney stones after his wife, who’s a veterinarian, observed from animals she had to treat during periods of long droughts showed higher incidence of kidney stones.

Military personnel deployed to desert environments, as in the Middle East, have also been observed to have more kidney stone conditions.

Using certain assumptions on global temperature changes found in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the research team forecasts that kidney stone prevalence may increase by as much 30 percent or higher, particularly in the hotter parts of the United States, as in the Southeast. This could impact the healthcare system by several hundred million dollars annually to treat the condition.

The incidence rate of kidney stones in the United States is about 12 percent among males and 7 percent among women. It is also 50 percent more common in the Southeast compared to the Northwest. The difference is attributed the higher average temperatures (by 14 degrees) in the Southeast.

This warning about kidney stones comes amid other scary predictions on how global warming will impact human health. It is possible the public may view the warning as insignificant when compared with other dire forecasts.

For instance, scientists have already raised warnings about an increase in malaria and other tropical diseases as a result of global warming. Malaria accounts for 2 million deaths worldwide annually, and most of the fatalities are children.

The study was spearheaded by the University of Texas department of geosciences but there was collaboration with physicians from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. As scientists and physicians ponder the consequences of global warming on public health, collaborative studies of this kind are expected to increase.

People may not yet fully appreciate the myriad predictions coming from diverse quarters, but these collaborations between climate experts and health professionals will help to uncover the unknown perils that will come with global warming.

Safety Tip:

* Drink plenty of water. When you undergo excess sweating because of high temperatures, be sure to drink more to replenish your body’s water supply.