Many factors can increase the risk of developing painful kidney stones. Such factors include diet, heredity, age, sex and lifestyle. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, white males older than age 50 are most at risk for developing calcium kidney stones, which make up the vast majority of kidney stone cases. Women, infants and the elderly who are more likely to have urinary tract infections are at a slightly greater risk for developing certain types of stones.
Diet
Diet can be an important factor in both the development and prevention of kidney stones. It is recommended that individuals at risk for kidney stones drink 12 or more glasses of water per day to flush out extra calcium from the kidneys. Individuals at risk for calcium-type stones should also limit foods rich in the compound oxalate, including spinach, chard, beets, squash and chocolate. Limiting protein intake can help lower the risk of some types of kidney stones as a high-protein diet increases the acidity of the urine, promoting the stone-forming process. Obese individuals and diabetics also tend to have acidic urine and are at risk for developing acid-based stones. Individuals with a family history of cystine stones, a rare, genetically inherited condition, may also want to avoid high-protein foods to prevent the build up of the amino acid cystine in the urinary tract.
Urinary tract infection (UTI)
According to the NIDDK, individuals at risk for urinary tract infections (women, infants and the elderly) are also at risk for a relatively rare type of kidney stone known as struvite, or "infection" stones. These stones are formed from magnesium and ammonia as bacteria in the urinary tract form waste products. Individuals at risk for urinary tract infections or with a history of UTI should be aware of struvite stones.
Heredity
Heredity is a very important factor in determining one's risk for developing kidney stones. Regardless of stone type, those with a family history of stones are more likely to develop stones than people without such histories. Certain rare stone types, such as cystine stones, have a strong genetic component. Individuals with a family history of cystine stones are likely to inherit the genetic condition that prevents the excretion of the amino acid cystine and causes these stones to form.
