Abstract

ROLE OF SEX HORMONES AND OTHER FACTORS IN PREDOMINANCE OF STONE FORMATION IN MALES AS COMPARED TO FEMALES

Reema Mitra* and Poonam Sharma

Abstract

Urolithiasis is the formation of stones in the urinary system. It has been observed that occurence of stones is more in males as compared to females. The male- to- female ratio in stone formation in the reproductive age is 3:1. This difference is mainly because of the enhancing effect of testosterone in males and inhibitory or protective effect of estrogen. Estrogen also influences the amount of citric acid secreted, citric acid being an inhibitor of stone formation. With reference to the effect of climate it was found that although both men and women sweat to same extent women are better at replenishing the losses as compared to males and this might agin explain the higher incidence of stones in men.

Keywords: Testosterone and estrogen in stone formation, sex hormones in urolithiasis, promoters and inhibitors of stone formation, citric acid and urolithiasis.