Number of family members, a new influencing factor to affect the risk of melamine-associated urinary stones

ABSTRACT

Melamine is a new risk of urinary stones. Gansu province is a heavily affected area and has large population and underdeveloped economy. We hypothesized that number of family members and family income may play significant roles in the formation of urinary stones. A case-control study was performed among 190 infants. Results showed that the case group had less numbers of family members than the control [4.4 vs. 5.6, respectively]. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that number of family members was an independent influencing factor associated with urinary stones [OR, 0.606; 95% CI, 0.411-0.893; P = 0.011]. Family income, however, did not exhibit a significant difference. Observed results suggested that number of family members was a new and significant influencing factor to affect the risk of melamine-associated urinary stones