According to a new study undertaken by Marlie Elia and colleagues, one in every three persons with nephrolithiasis is people with disabilities (PWD). Even after adjusting for many known risk factors, the odds of nephrolithiasis are higher in people with disabilities across all impairment domains.
The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of nephrolithiasis in people with disabilities (PWD) while controlling for known risk factors for kidney stone illness.
The findings of this work were published in Journal of Urology.
For this work researchers calculated nephrolithiasis prevalence by functional disability type using answers to disability and kidney disease questionnaires from the 2013 to 2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control. They also assessed the entire population of stone formers with impairments in the United States and compared disability prevalence among stone formers and non-stone formers. Using known correlates of nephrolithiasis, multivariate logistic regression models were constructed.
The results of this work stated as follow:
1. PWD accounts for 34.7 % (CI: 30.5 percent -39.1%) of stone-formers in the United States.
2. The prevalence of nephrolithiasis in persons with impairments is 16.1% (CI: 14.4-18.0), compared to 9.2% (CI: 8.3-10.3) in those without disabilities.
3. PWD have a considerably increased risk of nephrolithiasis (un-adjusted OR: 1.91 CI: 1.55-2.36).
4. Even after controlling for age, gender, race, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, the chances of nephrolithiasis remain increased in PWD overall (adjusted OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.17-1.83) and across all handicap categories.
In conclusion, PWD are recognized as a distinct population with considerable health inequalities, yet there is a scarcity of research that assess urologic illness prevalence in this group. People with disabilities have higher prevalence of nephrolithiasis and may constitute a population with distinct health inequalities. Attempts to increase healthcare services to this demographic may be justified. To investigate possible inequities, future urologic research should include handicap status.
Reference:
Elia M, Monga M, De S. Increased Nephrolithiasis Prevalence in People with Disabilities: A National Health and Nutrition Survey Analysis. Urology. 2021 Oct 5:S0090-4295(21)00883-9. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2021.07.047. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34619156.