Seasonal Variations of Urinary Stone Colic in Arabia

The western region of Saudi Arabia is an area with a high prevalence of urolithiasis. This study was designed to find the effect of climatic changes on the occurrence of urinary stone colic as well as the effect of Ramadan fasting and pilgrimage festival. The emergency room (E.R.) records at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah were studied for 3 consecutive years. Males diagnosed as urinary colic during this period were recorded on monthly basis with correction for 30 days a month. Data were recorded before, during and after the fasting month as well as before and after the pilgrimage festival. The results showed a steady increase in urinary stone colic in the hot season with a maximum rate in the months of June, July and August. The mean number of males with stone colic in these months was 45.33, 44.19 and 45.16 respectively. The lowest number was in March (28.06) with a rate of 4.11 per 1000 patients. A strong correlation was found between urinary stone colic and both temperature and atmospheric pressure with a P value of < 0.0001. No significant correlation was observed with relative humidity and similarly no significant change in relation to Ramadan fasting or the pilgrimage festival. These results suggest that there is a clear stone season in this area corresponding to the hot summer months. No significant increase in urinary stone colic was observed in relationship to the fasting month of Ramadan or the pilgrimage festival.