This study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-reported food security and kidney stone formation.
Data were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a database representative of the United States population.
Food security status was assessed using the US Household Food Security Survey Module: Six-Item Short Form. Characteristics of patients were compared using the Chi-square test and the student t-test. Multivariate logistic regression was performed using a multi-model approach.
We analyzed 6,800 NHANES survey respondents. 37.2% of respondents were categorized as having "low food security" (scores 2-4) and 24.0% having "very low food security" (scores 5-6). 8.4% of respondents had a history of kidney stones. We found that people with very low food security had a 42% increased likelihood of developing kidney stones compared to those with high or marginal food security, after controlling for race, age, and comorbidities (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.01-1.99). Between the different food security groups, no significant differences were observed in age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, gout history, osteoporosis history, or coronary artery disease history. Lower food security was associated with slightly younger age (< 1 year difference, p = 0.001), higher poverty-income ratio (p = 0.001), and many comorbidities, including kidney stones (p = 0.007).
Our study provides evidence for an association between food access and the risk of kidney stone disease. Given these findings, food insecurity should be investigated as a modifiable risk factor for the development of kidney stone disease.
World journal of urology. 2022 Sep 20 [Epub ahead of print]
Benjamin W Green, Kevin Labagnara, Eric Macdonald, Nathan Feiertag, Michael Zhu, Kavita Gupta, Charan Mohan, Kara L Watts, Arun Rai, Alexander C Small
Department of Urology, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1250 Waters Pl, Tower 1 Penthouse, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA., Smith Institute for Urology, Northwell Health System, New Hyde Park, NY, USA., Department of Urology, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1250 Waters Pl, Tower 1 Penthouse, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA. .
PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36125503