Department of Biochemistry and Toxicology, University Hospital, Monastir, Tunisia.
Ann Lab Med. 2012 May;32(3):177-83. doi: 10.3343/alm.2012.32.3.177. Epub 2012 Apr 18.
Studies that evaluate the effect of age on stone composition are scarce. The aim of this study was to highlight the changes in epidemiological characteristics (stone composition and location) of urolithiasis according to patients' age.
We studied 1,301 urolithiasis patients with age ranging from 6 months to 92 yr (781 males and 520 females). Stone analysis was performed using a stereomicroscope and infrared spectroscopy to determine the morphological type and molecular composition of each stone.
The annual average incidence of new stone formation was 31.7 per 100,000 persons. In 71.8% of cases, calculi were located in the upper urinary tract. Compared to other age groups, children and old men were more affected by bladder stones. Calcium oxalate monohydrate was the most frequent stone component, even though its frequency decreased with age (59.5% in young adults and 43.7% in the elderly, P<0.05) in favor of an increase in uric acid stones (11.5% in young adults and 36.4% in the elderly, P<0.05). Struvite stones were rare (3.8%) and more frequent in children than in adults.
The analysis of these data showed that urinary stones in Tunisian patients are tending to evolve in the same direction as the stones in patients from industrialized countries.
评估年龄对结石成分影响的研究较少。本研究旨在根据患者年龄，强调尿石症在流行病学特征（结石成分和部位）方面的变化。
我们研究了 1301 例年龄在 6 个月至 92 岁（781 名男性和 520 名女性）的尿石症患者。使用立体显微镜和红外光谱法对结石进行分析，以确定每个结石的形态类型和分子组成。
每年新形成结石的平均发病率为 31.7/100000 人。在 71.8%的病例中，结石位于上尿路。与其他年龄组相比，儿童和老年男性更容易患膀胱结石。草酸钙单水合物是最常见的结石成分，尽管其频率随年龄增加而降低（年轻人为 59.5%，老年人为 43.7%，P<0.05），尿酸结石的频率增加（年轻人为 11.5%，老年人为 36.4%，P<0.05）。碳酸磷灰石结石很少见（3.8%），且在儿童中比在成人中更常见。
这些数据分析表明，突尼斯患者的尿结石正朝着与工业化国家患者结石相同的方向发展。
