Could Climate Change Cause Kidney Stones?!
by Anna Maltby
Oof: One of the many not-great side effects of climate change appears to be that it's increasing the worldwide incidence of kidney stones, The Atlantic's CityLab reports.
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According to a new study in Environmental Health Perspectives, when temperatures go up, hospitals also see a spike in the number of people with kidney stone issues--they came to this conclusion after a seven-year study of more than 60,000 patients across the U.S. The researchers suspect that dehydration may be part of the problem here, since hotter days lead to more dehydration, which can cause the mineral buildup in the urine that brings on kidney stones.
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This is scary stuff because, while kidney stones are pretty rare (only 11 percent of the U.S. population has had them), their incidence is on the rise, especially in children.
Stay hydrated out there!
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