Epidemiology of urolithiasis consultations in the Paraíba Valley

ABSTRACT Objective: to know the epidemiological profile of patients with urolithiasis in the Paraíba Valley region, identifying its prevalence and spatial distribution. Method: we conducted a cross-sectional study, by residence location in the Paraíba Valley, on morbidity data due to urolithiasis obtained from the DATASUS, covering the period between 2010 and 2012. We aimed at identifying the general, male and female prevalence of urolithiasis, the distribution by age, type of visit, year season and spatial distribution. Results: there were 1,901 visits for urolithiasis in the 35 municipalities of the Paraíba Valley in the three years studied, 52.3% of them of female patients. Of the total, 70.1% of the visits were emergency ones. The feminine visits (67.2%) were mostly also urgent (p <0.01). The overall prevalence for urolithiasis was 31.7/100,000. Male prevalence was 30.7/100,000, and the female, 32.7/100,000 (p>0.05). The prevalence ratio was 0.9 men for every woman. The age group with the highest prevalence was between 30 and 39 years, with 23.1%. Warm seasons concentrated 51.6% of cases, while 48.8% occurred in the cold ones (p>0.05) . Conclusion: women are more affected by urolithiasis than the male in the Paraíba Valley region, an unprecedented in the literature. There was no relationship between the year season and the disease. We identified municipalities where preventive actions of urinary lithogenesis are required.