Doctors also use terms that describe the location of the stone in the urinary tract. Gallstones and kidney stones are not related. They form in different areas of the body. If a person has a gallstone, he or she is not necessarily more likely to develop kidney stones. For some unknown reason, the number of persons in the United States with kidney stones has been increasing over the past 20 years.
White people are more prone to kidney stones than are black people.
Although stones occur more frequendy in men, the number of women who get kidney stones has been increasing over the past 10 years, causing the ratio to change. Kidney stones strike most people between the ages of 20 and 40. Once a person gets more than one stone, he or she is more likely to develop others. Doctors do not always know what causes a stone to form. While certain foods may promote stone formation in people who are susceptible, scientists do not believe that eating any specific food causes stones to form in people who are not susceptible.