Comparison of the bone mineral density status of patients with kidney stones stratified by stone composition.

Purpose: Bone loss has been found to occur frequently in patients with particular metabolic disorders that are likely associated with certain kidney stone composition. Thus, we compared the bone mineral density (BMD) of patients with different kidney stone compositions.

Patients And Methods: A total of 204 consecutive patients who exhibited stone formation with calcium oxalate (CaOx), calcium phosphate (CaP), uric acid (UA), and magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) underwent 24 h urine test and BMD measurement. BMD was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN). The Z-score was used to express BMD. A BMD Z-score ≤  - 2 was defined as a diagnostic threshold for bone loss.

Results: Amongst the patients, 38 had an LS BMD Z-score of ≤  - 2, but only 2 had FN BMD Z-score of ≤  - 2. The group with an LS BMD Z-score of ≤  - 2 exhibited significantly larger male - female ratio, higher frequency of hypercalciuria and CaP, and lower frequency of MAP than the group with an LS BMD Z-score of >  - 2. Reduced LS BMD was most remarkable in the CaP group, followed by the CaOx, UA, and MAP groups. The LS BMD Z-score of hypercalciuric patients was significantly lower than that of normocalciuric patients only in the CaP group.

Conclusion: Patients with different kidney stone compositions presented different BMD status. Using this information may facilitate medical decision-making in patients with kidney stone who should undergone BMD earlier.