Researchers have found that greater consumption of added sugars is linked to a higher risk of kidney stones.1✅ JOURNAL REFERENCE
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1226082
Kidney stone symptoms are severe pain, bloody urine, vomiting, nausea, chills, and fever. Kidney stones not only reduce the quality of life, they could in the long run result in infections, renal insufficiency, end-stage renal disease, and swollen kidneys. Kidney stone risk factors include obesity, being male, dehydration, chronic diarrhea, and gout, diabetes, or inflammatory bowel disease.
The results of the study have suggested that an increased intake of added sugars ought to be included in the list of kidney stone risk factors. Added sugars exist in a lot of processed foods, but are particularly plentiful in fruit drinks, sugar-sweetened sodas, cookies, cakes, ice cream, and candy.
Epidemiological data of 28,303 individuals were analyzed, collected between 2007 and 2018 from the NHANES survey. A history of kidney stones was self-reported by the participants.
The daily consumption of added sugars of each participant was determined from their memory of their latest consumption of drinks and food, provided on two occasions: once face-to-face, and once telephonically between 3 and 10 days afterward. For instance, individuals were asked if they had consumed pure sugar, fructose, dextrose, honey, or syrups throughout the past 24 hours.
Each individual was also given a healthy eating index score that summarized their diet with regards to the adequacy of diet components that are beneficial which include whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, and moderation of foods that are potentially harmful, such as saturated fats, sodium, and refined grains.
The chances of kidney stones developing were adjusted each year throughout the study for a variety of explanatory factors such as smoking status, age, gender, ethnicity or race, relative income, healthy eating index score, BMI, and whether the individuals had a diabetes history.
At the beginning of the study, individuals with higher consumption of added sugar had a tendency to have greater current kidney stone prevalence. The overall average added sugar consumption was 272.1 calories daily, corresponding to 13.2% of the total energy intake every day.
The researchers revealed that after these factors were adjusted for, the energy intake percentage from added sugars was consistently and positively associated with kidney stones. For instance, individuals whose added sugar was in the 25% highest consumption had a 39% higher likelihood of getting kidney stones throughout the study.
Similarly, individuals deriving over 25% of total energy from added sugars had an 88% higher likelihood of developing kidney stones compared to individuals who derived under 5% of their total energy from added sugars.
The underlying mechanism of the connection between added sugar consumption and a higher risk of kidney stones is unknown.
Additional research is needed to investigate the connection between added sugar and numerous diseases or pathological conditions in detail Such as what kinds of kidney stones are most linked to added sugar intake and how much should the intake of added sugars be reduced to reduce the risk of the formation of kidney stones.
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