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. 2022 Mar 30:2022:6807203.
doi: 10.1155/2022/6807203. eCollection 2022.

Epidemiological Trends of Urolithiasis at the Global, Regional, and National Levels: A Population-Based Study

Xiaoyuan Qian #  1 , Junlai Wan #  2 , Jinzhou Xu  1 , Chenqian Liu  1 , Mingliang Zhong  1 , Jiaqiao Zhang  1 , Ying Zhang  3 , Shaogang Wang  1
Affiliations

Epidemiological Trends of Urolithiasis at the Global, Regional, and National Levels: A Population-Based Study

Xiaoyuan Qian et al. Int J Clin Pract. .

Abstract

Background: Urolithiasis is common worldwide and can predispose to urinary tract infections and renal failure. We aimed to explore the global, regional, and national burden of urolithiasis between 1990 and 2019, stratified by sex, age, and sociodemographic index (SDI).

Methods: From 1990 to 2019, data on the number of incident cases of urolithiasis, associated deaths, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were extracted from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. The trends for the incidence rate, mortality, and DALYs were evaluated using estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs).

Results: The incidence of urolithiasis increased by 48.57%, from 77.78 million incident cases in 1990 to 115.55 million in 2019, while its age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) decreased. The ASIR increased slightly in the low SDI regions (EAPC = 0.33; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24-0.43), while ASIRs in other SDI regions decreased. The incidence of urolithiasis by age presented a unimodal distribution, with the peak observed in patients aged between 50 years and 70 years. Urolithiasis-related mortality and DALYs also increased over time. Yet, the age-standardized death rate (ASDR) decreased by 2.05% (95% CI, -2.25% to -1.85%) per year, and the annual age-standardized DALY rate decreased by 1.77% (95% CI, -1.92% to -1.63%). The mortality and DALYs increased with age. The incidence, mortality, and DALYs were greater in males than those in females. The burden of urolithiasis showed obvious differences in its regional distribution over the past three decades.

Conclusion: From 1990 to 2019, ASIR, ASDR, and age-standardized DALY rate of urolithiasis have decreased. Yet, particularly significant differences exist in the geographic, age, and sex distribution. Thus, medical resources should be rationally allocated and adjusted according to the geographic and demographic distribution of urolithiasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The incidence, death, and DALY rates of urolithiasis in different age groups. (a) Incidence in 1990. (b) Incidence in 2019. (c) Death rate in 1990. (d) Death rate in 2019. (e) DALY rate in 1990. (f) DALY rate in 2019.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The ratio of male to female incidence in different age groups in 2019. (a) Global level. (b) High SDI regions. (c) High-middle SDI regions. (d) Middle SDI regions. (e) Middle-low SDI regions. (f) Low SDI regions. SDI: socio-demographic index.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The change trends of age-standardized incidence (ASIR), age-standardized death (ASDR), and age-standardized incidence DALYs rate among different SDI countries. A–C: ASIR; D–F: ASDR; H–J: age-standardized DALYs rate.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of different ages in urolithiasis incidence/death patients by region. (a) Incidence in 1990 and 2019. (b) Death rate in 1990 and 2019.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The correlation between EAPCs and urolithiasis ASR (incidence (a), death (b), and DALY (c)) in 2019 and HDI (incidence (d), death (e), and DALYs (f)) in 2019. The circles represent countries that are available on SDI values. The size of circles described the number of urolithiasis patients. The R indices Pearson's correlation coefficient and p values are obtained from Pearson's correlation analysis. ASR, age-standardized incidence/death/DALYs rate; EAPC, estimated annual percentage change; SDI, socio-demographic index.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The global disease burden of urolithiasis for both sexes in 192 countries. (a) The ASIR of urolithiasis in 2019. (b) The ASDR of urolithiasis in 2019. (c) The age-standardized DALY rate of urolithiasis in 2019. ASIR, age-standardized incidence rate; ASDR, age-standardized death rate.
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