Global warming means more kidney stones

Climate scientists predict warmer temperatures in the U.S. that may cause a 30 percent increase in kidney stone cases in some regions, according to the study from researchers at the University of Texas. That would lead to a $1 billion increase in treatment costs by 2050, they said.

Dehydration is linked to the condition, which can develop when people don't drink enough water to flush stone-forming salts from the body. Higher temperatures may lead to more dehydration and expand the "kidney stone belt," an area of the Southeast U.S. where men are twice as likely to develop the disease compared with the Northeast, according to the study.

"It's pretty well established that the prevalence of kidney stones increases with annual average temperatures," said lead author Tom Brikowski, associate professor of geosciences at the University of Texas at Dallas.

The related cost of the predicted increase in kidney stones would be $900 million to $1.3 billion as the kidney stone belt expands northward and westward from warming, the researchers said. Nationwide, cases of kidney stones will rise about 10 percent, with some areas in the Midwest and Northeast seeing up to a 30 percent jump. Northeastern Illinois alone would see up to 100,000 more lifetime cases.

Roughly 12 percent of men and 7 percent of women develop the condition during their lifetime.

Other health effects of climate change may include increased heat-related deaths, infectious diseases in some areas and more allergies, according to a United Nations panel of scientists.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said last year that earth will likely warm by 2 degrees to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 unless greenhouse-gas emissions are reduced.