Since the 1970s, the prevalence of kidney stones has risen 70 percent.
According to a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the connection could be exposure to antibiotics.
Reviewing health records in the UK, researchers found that exposure to any of five classes of antibiotics increased the risk of kidney stones.
Broad-spectrum penicillins increased the risk by 27 percent. Sulfa drugs more than doubled the risk, according to the New York Times.
Other antibiotics that increased risk: Cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and nitrofurantoin.
Researchers speculated that the cause could be interaction of antibiotics with gut bacteria.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
