Abstract
AIM: Evidence is lacking about whether urinary stones are associated with the subsequent risk of cardiovascular diseases. Herein, we investigated the association between history of urinary stones and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke among middle-aged Japanese. METHODS: This cohort study included 89,037 Japanese men and women (45-74 years) registered in the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident CHD and stroke among Japanese adults with a self-reported history of urinary stones compared with those without it. The following covariates were included in the regression models: age, sex, area, body mass index, and histories of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, smoking habit, alcohol intake, and physical activity. RESULTS: In total, 1.31% of Japanese adults reported a positive history of urinary stones. Throughout a median follow-up period of 12 years, 1.16% of Japanese adults developed CHD, and 4.96% developed stroke. No associations were detected between history of urinary stones and the risk of CHD (HR 1.04; 95% CI: 0.64-1.67), stroke (HR 0.92; 95% CI: 0.71-1.20), or total CVD (HR 0.95; 95% CI: 0.75-1.19). Younger urinary stone formers (45-59 years) tended to have a higher, though statistically insignificant, risk of CHD than older urinary stone formers (60-74 years): [(HR 1.15; 95% CI: 0.61-2.15) versus (HR 0.83; 95% CI: 0.40-1.76)], respectively. CONCLUSION: The history of urinary stones was shown to be not associated with the risk of CVD among Japanese adults.