Stressful Life Events and Painful Recurrent Colic of Renal Lithiasis

PurposeThere is strong evidence concerning the influence of life event stress on the onset and course of painful acute episodes in primary care. However, few studies have analyzed stressful life events in painful recurrent episodes of renal stone disease. We evaluated the association between painful recurrent colic of renal lithiasis and stressful life events.Materials and MethodsWe performed this case-control study in a primary care setting. Study participants were 194 subjects (97 cases and 97 controls) matched according to age and gender. Cases were outpatients with a confirmed diagnosis of nephrolithiasis. The control group consisted of patients seen at the Ophthalmology Outpatient Clinic of the University Hospital, reporting only refraction symptoms and presenting no chronic or acute pathology. Main outcome measures reported were stressful life events as measured by the Social Readjustment Rating Scale.ResultsThe mean Social Readjustment Rating Scale of cases was significantly higher than controls at 257.56 (±193.81) vs 144 (±131.24), respectively. Logistic regression revealed that belonging to the case group increased the chances of showing positive results on the scale greater than or equal to 100 (OR 3.02, 95% CI 1.64-5.59) and the chance of presenting results of 200 or greater was 2.87 (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.58-5.22).ConclusionsStressful life events were significantly greater among cases than controls.