The Association of Urine Creatinine With Kidney Stone Prevalence in US Adults: Data From NHANES 2009-2018

Background: The primary objective of this project is to explore the association of urine creatinine (UCR) with the prevalence rate of kidney stones.

Method: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database was employed to conduct a cross-sectional study. The analysis samples included adults aged ≥20 years from five consecutive cycles of the NHANES 2009-2018. The association between UCR and kidney stones was detected using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Further, subgroup analyses were performed to evaluate the subgroup effects.

Results: After adjustment for all confounders, multiple logistic regression analysis revealed a weak positive relationship between UCR and kidney stone (OR = 1.015, 95% CI: 1.008-1.021). In the subgroup analysis stratified by sex, age, or race, the risk further increased in men (OR = 1.014, 95% CI: 1.005-1.023), women (OR = 1.015, 95% CI: 1.005-1.025), white race (OR = 1.022, 95% CI: 1.013-1.030), aged 40-59 years (OR = 1.017, 95% CI: 1.006-1.028), and aged 60-80 years (OR = 1.017, 95% CI: 1.006-1.028).

Conclusions: Our results confirmed a moderately increased risk of kidney stone formation attributed to high levels of UCR, especially in middle-aged and older adults and the white race. However, because of the cross-sectional design of the study, causal inferences cannot be made.