Abstract
Background: Incidence of obesity is on rise worldwide due to several risk factors, including lifestyle changes and genetic causes. Obesity can be diagnosed with different anthropometric tools, such as body mass index, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat and waist circumference. The incidence of urinary stones disease has been linked to obesity as well as metabolic syndrome (MetS). The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between obesity defined by visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and urolithiassis.
Methods: The search engines utilized for finding relevant studies were Medline, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane databases between January 2001 and January 2019. Published articles written in the English language and reporting an association between visceral obesity, urolithiasis and MetS were included.
Results: Obesity defined by visceral fat estimation is associated with increased risk of MetS and urinary stone formation. Insulin resistance, low urinary pH, hyperuricemia, hyperuicosuria and hyperoxaluria were the main observed metabolic derangements behind the pathogenesis and the increased risks of stone development in obese patients.
Conclusion: The role of VAT reduction in prevention of urinary stones disease is not yet established, and for this reason more studies are required in the future to clarify this sequence of events.