ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Renal Physiology and Pathophysiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1625100
This article is part of the Research TopicBalancing Act: Exploring the Impact of Steroid Hormones, Diets/Supplements, and New Drugs on Renal FunctionView all 4 articles
Prevalence of kidney stones based on metabolic health and weight criteria: Reports from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2018 data analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Urology, Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital, Graduate School of Qinghai University, Xining, China
- 2Department of Urology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgeng Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Objective: Using data from the NHANES collected between 2007-2018, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of kidney stones and metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and measure the effect of physical activity as a modifying factor.This cross-sectional analysis included 12,498 participants aged ≥20 years who were categorized into six groups based on their metabolic status (healthy or unhealthy) and BMI (normal, overweight, and obesity). Kidney stone history was self-reported. Weighted logistic regression models, adjusted for demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and lifestyle variables, were applied to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on the degree of physical activity.The overall prevalence of kidney stones was 10.20%. Participants with metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO) had the highest prevalence of kidney stones (14.5%), followed by individuals with MHO (11.1%). After full adjustment, compared to participants with MHN, the MHO and MUO groups exhibited significantly greater risks of kidney stones (MHO: OR=2.10, 95% CI:1.47-2.98, P < 0.001; MUO: OR=1.98, 95% CI:1.45-2.67, P < 0.001). Physical activity was associated with a decreased risk of kidney stones, particularly among individuals with MUO.Stratified analyses revealed no significant interaction effects by age, sex, or race.Obesity, irrespective of metabolic health status, was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of kidney stones. Higher levels of physical activity were correlated with lower risks of kidney stones, particularly in metabolically unhealthy individuals. These results underscore the importance of managing body weight and maintaining physical activity as key strategies to prevent kidney stones.
Keywords: Metabolically healthy obesity, metabolic syndrome, Obesity, Kidney Stones, physical activity
Received: 12 May 2025; Accepted: 09 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ding, Du, Li, Ji, Zhang and Hu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Weiguo Hu, Department of Urology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgeng Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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