Bone mineral density in patients with hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis

Bone mineral density was studied in 50 adult patients with renal lithiasis and metabolic diagnosis of idiopathic hypercalciuria. Thirty were premenopausal women and 20 were men under 55 years of age. Bone density at the lumbar spine (LSBD) was 0.940 +/- 0.106 g/cm(2) in the hypercalciuric patients compared to 1.112 +/- 0.037 g/cm(2) in a cohort of age- and sex-matched controls (p < 0.001). LSBD was independent of age and was negatively correlated with the duration of stone disease (r = -0.52, p < 0.001). Thus we conclude that patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria have a decrease in their LSBD that is probably related to a negative calcium balance sustained over time.