A complementary approach to urolithiasis prevention.

About one-half million adults in the United States experience a renal stone each year, about two hundred thousand of whom are hospitalized; the lifetime incidence of renal stones in men is about ten percent. Risk factors for stone formation include a positive family history, nutritional factors (excessive intake of animal protein, fat, sugar, oxalates, colas, alcohol, caffeine, salt, and vitamin D), nutritional deficiencies (water, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and vitamin B6), lifestyle factors (physical inactivity and problematic pharmaceuticals), and associated disease states (osteoporosis, parathyroid problems, osteoporosis, gout and recurrent urinary tract infections). The chemical makeup of the stone is important since prevention of recurrences varies somewhat depending on the type of stone involved. The outline of preventive steps holds the potential for preventing recurrence in the vast majority of cases.