Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash
According to the so-called experts, the increase in kidney stone cases our world is facing is because of… wait for it… climate change!
Experts speculated that the rising temperature is to blame for the painful condition of mineral deposits in your kidneys. The hotter and more humid it is, the more you sweat and the less you urinate. This allows minerals to bond in the kidneys and urinary tract, leading to kidney stones.
A study conducted by researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), published in Scientific Reports, suggests that a rise in global temperatures due to climate change will lead to a surge in kidney stone cases or nephrolithiasis over the next seven decades.
They claim that this increase will happen regardless of whether any measures are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to their projections, if no action is taken, the cost to the healthcare system could be approximately $99 million. However, even with some mitigation actions, the cost is expected to be around $57 million.
Now, isn’t that interesting? A warmer planet will apparently cause an increased burden of kidney stone disease on healthcare systems. This is according to Gregory E. Tasian, MD, MSc, MSCE, a pediatric urologist at CHOP.
“While it is impossible to predict with certainty how future policies will slow or hasten greenhouse gas emission and anthropogenic climate change, and to know exactly what future daily temperatures will be, our analysis suggests that a warming planet will likely cause an increased burden of kidney stone disease on healthcare systems,” said Tasian.
Three decades ago, kidney stones primarily impacted middle-aged White males, but now, experts told NBC News, they’re increasingly common among children and teenagers, especially during the summer.
They argue that sweating more and urinating less in hot weather allows minerals to bond in the kidneys and urinary tract. They also claim that the number of people seeking medical care for kidney stones increases as daily mean temperatures rise. This, they say, will lead to an expansion of the “kidney stone belt” in the U.S., where the prevalence of kidney stone disease is up to 50% higher than in the Northwest.
Another angle they claim is a diet of ultra-processed foods and the increased use of antibiotics among children can cause kidney stones, according to NBC News.
While the link between diet and kidney stones is plausible, the connection to climate change seems rather far-fetched. It feels like another attempt to blame every ill in the world on climate change. It’s important to question such claims and seek evidence-based answers rather than blindly accepting these narratives as truth.
The post Rising Temperatures From Climate Change May Cause Kidney Stone Epidemic, Says ‘Experts’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
