Social Determinants of Kidney Stone Disease: The Impact of Race, Income and Access on Urolithiasis Treatment and Outcomes

The management of kidney stones continues to be a major component of urology; however, little research has been able to specifically delineate and explore the disparities faced by various groups of kidney stone formers. While strides are being made in the research into gender disparities faced in kidney stone disease, unfortunately, research findings are sparse for racial and ethnic minority populations.

Overall, there is a lack of granularity in the data collected by larger studies exploring kidney stones which then, in turn, impedes thorough exploration of racial and ethnic identities in the context of stone disease and management. It is important to gather this data in order to fully assess and analyze kidney stone management and to ensure that stone disease outcomes are optimized across race, ethnicity, and gender.

We examine the influence of socioeconomic factors on kidney stones outcomes while calling for further study of the relationship between race, ethnicity, and kidney stone disease management and outcomes. We end by recommending a multipronged plan for the appropriate care of diverse kidney stone patients, illustrated in Figure 1 below.

Written by: Kymora B Scotland, Manuel Armas-Phan, Georgina Dominique, David Bayne

University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Emory University, Urology, The Emory Clinic, Atlanta, GA, USA; University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; University of California San Francisco, Urology, San Francisco, CA, USA.

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