An epidemiological relationship between urolithiasis and cardiovascular diseases has extensively been reported. Endothelial dysfunction is an early pathogenic event in cardiovascular diseases and has been associated with oxidative stress and low chronic inflammation in hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke or the vascular complications of diabetes and obesity.
| Type of Study | Number of Patients | Pathological Condition | Association | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metanalysis | 3,658,360 participants 157,037 urolithiasis |
CHD and stroke | CHD: RR = 1.24 (95% CI 1.14–1.36) MI: RR = 1.24 (95% CI 1.10–1.40) Stroke: RR = 1.21 (95% CI 1.06–1.38) |
Peng and Zheng, 2017 [29] |
| Metanalysis | 34,244,855 controls 52,791 urolithiasis |
CAD | RR = 1.24 (95% CI 1.10–1.40) Women: RR = 1.43 (95% CI 1.12–1.82) Men: RR = 1.14 (95% CI 0.94–1.38) |
Cheungpasitporn et al., 2014 [31] |
| Metanalysis | 3,558,053 controls 49,597 urolithiasis |
CAD Stroke MI Coronary revascularization |
CAD: RR = 1.19 (95% CI 1.05–1.35) Stroke: RR = 1.40 (95% CI 1.20–1.64) MI: RR = 1.29 (95% CI 1.10–1.52) CR: RR = 1.31 (95% CI 1.05–1.65) Male cohorts no association |
Liu et al., 2014 [30] |
| Cohorts Longitudinal |
90,544 controls 22,636 urolithiasis |
Ischemic Stroke | HR = 1.13 (95% CI 1.06–1.21) | Kim et al., 2019 [32] |
| Cohorts Longitudinal |
5571 urolithiasis | Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease | OR: 1.03 (95% CI 1.06–1.21) No association |
Glover et al., 2016 [44] |
| Cohorts Longitudinal |
40,773 controls 40,773 urolithiasis |
MI Stroke Cardiovascular events |
M.I: HR: 1.31 (95% CI 1.09–1.56) Stroke: HR: 1.39 (95% CI 1.24–1.55) CE: HR: 1.38 (95% CI 1.25–1.51) |
Hsu et al., 2016 [45] |
| Cohorts Longitudinal |
3,195,452 controls 25,532 urolithiasis |
MI Revascularization |
MI: HR = 1.40 (95% CI 1.30–1.51) Revasc.: HR = 1.63 (95% CI 1.51–1.76) Stroke: HR = 1.26 (95% CI 1.12–1.42) |
Alexander et al., 2014 [46] |
| Self-reported history of urolithiasis Longitudinal |
196,357 women 45,748 men 19,678 urolithiasis |
MI Revascularization |
HR = 1.30 (95% CI 1.04–1.62) (women) HR = 1.26 (95% CI 1.07–1.55) (women) |
Ferraro et al., 2013 [47] |
| Cohorts Longitudinal |
125,905 matched controls 25,181 urolithiasis |
Stroke | HR = 1.43 (95% CI 1.35–1.50) | Chung et al., 2012 [33] |
| Cross sectional case-control study | 200 CaOx stone formers | Cardiovascular disease Mortality |
OR = 8.36 (95% CI 3.81–16.85) OR = 3.02 (95% CI 1.30–7.02) |
Aydin et al., 2011 [34] |
| Self-reported history of urolithiasis Cross sectional |
23,346 | MI Stroke |
OR = 1.34 (95% CI 1–1.79) OR = 1.33 (95% CI 1.02–1.74) |
Domingos and Serra, 2011 [48] |
| Cross sectional study Retrospective cohort |
10,860 control 4564 cases |
MI | HR = 1.31 (95% CI 1.02–1.69) | Rule et al., 2010 [49] |
| Cross sectional study Retrospective cohort |
Females cohort of 9704 426 nephrolithiasis |
MI | RR = 1.78 (95% CI 1.22–2.62) | Eisner et al., 2009 [50] |
| Cohorts Longitudinal |
10,938 normal blood pressure individuals 56 strokes |
Stroke | 3.6% urolithiasisin stroke patients 0.5% urolithiasis in no stroke individuals |
Li et al., 2009 [51] |
| Retrospective cohort | 1316 cases | MI | Westlund et al., 1973 [52] | |
| Cross sectional study | 2000 men | CHD | No association | Ljunghall et al., 1976 [53] |
| Cross sectional study | 13,418 control men 404 current kidney stone formers 1231 past kidney stone formers |
Risk factors for coronary disease: BMI, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperuricemia, dyslipidemia and chronic kidney disease | Multivariate adjusted OR significant: Overweight/obesity (p < 0.001), hypertension (p < 0.001), gout/hyperuricemia (p < 0.001), chronic kidney disease (p < 0.001) in past and current kidney stone formers | Ando et al., 2013 [54] |
| Cross sectional case-control study | 187 Controls 181 CaOx stone formers |
Risk factors for coronary disease: BMI, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperuricemia, hypercholesterolemia, smoking habit and current alcohol use | Multivariate adjusted OR significant: smoking habit (OR: 4.41, p < 0.0001), hypertension (OR: 3.57, p < 0.0001), hypercholesterolemia (OR: 2.74, p < 0.001), chronic kidney disease (p < 0.001) | Hamano et al., 2005 [35] |
| Cross sectional study | 27 control 27 lithiasic patients |
Endothelial dysfunction (Celermajer method) | %FMD 11.85% (SE: 2.78 lower in lithiasic patients. p < 0.001 | Sáenz-Medina et al., 2021 [7] |
| Cross sectional study | 1.-MetS- SD−: 93 2.-MetS- SD+: 93 3.-MetS+ SD−: 93 4.-MetS+ SD+: 93 |
Endothelial dysfunction (Celermajer method) | 1 vs. 2: p < 0.001 1 vs. 3: p < 0.001 1 vs. 4: p < 0.001 |
Yazici et al., 2020 [40] |
| Cross sectional study | 60 control 60 lithiasic patients |
Endothelial dysfunction (Celermajer method) | FMD% Lithiasis: 6.49 ± 3.52 Control: 10.50 ± 5.10 p < 0.0001 |
Yencilek et al., 2017 [8] |

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/ijms23020912