Last updated: 02/17/2009

Calculi in the urinary tract are common in the general United States population. Between seven and 10 in every 1,000 adults are hospitalized each year for treatment of urolithiasis; in addition, kidney stones are found in about 1% of bodies at...

autopsy. An estimated 10% of the population will suffer from kidney stones at some point in life. For reasons that are not yet known, the percentage of people with kidney stones has been rising in North America since 1980. In addition, the gender ratio is changing as more women are developing kidney stones. In 1980, the male:female ratio was 4:1; as of 2002, it was 3:1. Although more men develop renal calculi in general than women, more women develop infection calculi than men.

In terms of age groups, most people with urolithiasis are between the ages of 20 and 40; kidney stones are rare in children. A person who develops one kidney stone has a 50% chance of developing another.

With regard to race, Caucasians are more likely to develop kidney stones than African Americans.