Menopause May Up Risk of Kidney Stones

Menopause causes metabolic changes that alter urine composition and kidney stone risk.

Highlights:

A link between menopause and kidney stones has been discovered
Menopause puts women at increased risk of developing kidney stone risk
Metabolic changes occur due to menopause and hence the incident of kidney stone

Women are at increased risk of developing kidney stones after menopause due to metabolic changes that alters urine composition, reveals a new study.//

Menopause refers to the cessation of the menstrual cycle due to natural depletion of ovarian follicles and marks the permanent end of a woman’s fertility. It can take place anywhere between the age of 45-55 years, although the average age is 51 years.

Dealing with Menopause Symptoms Through Lifestyle Changes
You can deal with menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, weight gain and forgetfulness by making simple lifestyle changes.

‘Menopause causes metabolic changes in women, which alters urine composition and increases their risk of developing kidney stones.’
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The symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, depression, vaginal dryness, insomnia, memory loss, reduced sex drive and urinary incontinence. A healthy lifestyle revolving around a balanced diet, regular exercise and cutting down on alcohol consumption and smoking can help alleviate menopausal symptoms.

Details of the Study

The research team examined to find a link between menopause and the risk of incident kidney stones, and changes in 24-hour urine composition in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) II.//

Perimenopause - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
Perimenopause is a transition phase that lasts until menopause. The low estrogen levels during this phase cause irregular periods and early menopause symptoms such as hot flashes. This phase may last from a few months to years.

Using multivariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, the research team analyzed about 108,639 NHS II participants who provided information on menopause and kidney stones. They also analyzed 24-hour urine collections from over 658 participants who performed a collection while pre-menopausal and a repeat collection after menopause.

Results of the Study

What is Menopause?
Menopause is defined as the state of permanent cessation of menstrual cycles (periods) for 12-months.

The results show that during 22 years of follow-up, about 3,456 participants who had kidney stones.

The multivariate-adjusted relative risk of an incident kidney stone in postmenopausal participants compared with premenopause was 1.27 (95% CI 1.08–1.46).
On stratified analysis compared with premenopause, the multivariate-adjusted relative risk of natural and surgically induced menopause was 1.27 (95% CI 1.09–1.48) and 1.43 (95% CI 1.19–1.73), respectively.
Among the 74,505 postmenopausal participants, there was a total of 1,041 incident stone events.
Compared with no hormone therapy, neither current nor past use was significantly associated with kidney stone risk.
Compared with premenopause the postmenopausal urine collections had lower mean calcium, citrate, phosphorus and uric acid, and higher mean volume.

Conclusion

Postmenopausal status is linked to a higher risk of developing kidney stones. Natural and surgical menopause are both independently associated with higher risk. However, there are small but significant differences in urine composition between pre-and-postmenopausal urine collections.

Diet for Menopause - Foods to Eat & Avoid
Menopause is a stage when hormone levels decline in middle aged women. Right food choices combined with regular exercise is the key to alleviate menopausal symptoms.

Source-Medindia