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New study revealed that there is a clear link between kidney stones in children and thickened or hardened arteries. The study is published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Dr. Kirsten Kusumi, nephrology fellow at Ohio-based Nationwide Children's Hospital, said, "If the processes of kidney stone formation and hardening of the arteries are somehow linked in adults, it makes sense that a similar link may exist in children, despite the fact that people don't associate heart and vascular diseases with kids."
For the study, the research team used ultrasound exams to evaluate and compare the thickness of key arteries for 15 children with kidney stones and 15 children without them. Dr. Kusumi and her colleagues detected a significant increase in the thickness of the right carotid artery and average artery thickness, potential risk factors for cardiovascular complications or disease, in children with a recent kidney stone. The scientists have not yet defined the exact mechanism behind this. The researchers also screened the urine of participants for different biomarkers. They found that key inflammatory markers appeared at higher levels in the urine of children with arterial abnormalities.
Dr. Kusumi said, "Our findings suggest that there is something going on in the body related to kidney stone formation that also impacts the health of children's arteries. Now that we have a clear indication, we can take steps as clinicians to treat these vascular symptoms or implement preventive measures, such as exercise and diet programs."
Andrew Schwaderer, research director of Nephrology at Nationwide Children's, said, "It could be that different types of kidney stones have different causes and even different risk factors."
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