Association between hypertension and kidney stones: a cross-sectional analysis from NHANES and Mendelian randomization

The association between hypertension and kidney stones remains inconsistent. This research investigated the relationship between hypertension and the risk and progression of kidney stones. A cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The association was assessed with a multivariable logistic regression model. Furthermore, a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to evaluate causality. Methods included inverse-variance weighted (IVW), weighted median, and sensitivity analyses. Summary-level data for kidney stones were obtained from the UK Biobank, and for hypertension from a genome-wide association study (GWAS)analysis. The NHANES analysis included 21,740 participants. After full adjustment, hypertension was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of kidney stones (odds ratio [OR] = 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19−1.56, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). In the MR analysis, the IVW method indicated a causal effect of hypertension on kidney stones (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00−1.01, <i>p</i> = 0.013), supported by the weighted median method (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00−1.02, <i>p</i> = 0.002). Sensitivity analyses revealed no significant heterogeneity or pleiotropy. Our investigation revealed a heightened risk of kidney stones linked to hypertension, which necessitates validation through further large-scale prospective cohort studies.