title: Aortic calcification in urolithiasis patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between urolithiasis and calcification of the aortic artery.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the relationship between urolithiasis and calcification of the aortic artery in 181 patients with urinary calcium stones (stone group) and in 181 without a history of urolithiasis (control group). All patients underwent abdominal CT to score the degree of calcification at the aortic arterial wall, as follows: 0, none; 1, <120 degrees calcification; 2, > or =120 degrees to <240 degrees calcification; and 3, > or =240 degrees calcification. Both the stone and control groups were further classified into three groups each according to gender and age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Aortic calcification scores differed significantly between the stone and control groups in males aged > or =20-<40 years (0.43+/-0.50 vs 0.13+/-0.35, respectively) and in females aged > or =60 years (1.81+/-0.74 vs 1.44+/-0.64, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that common causative factors are associated with urolithiasis and arteriosclerosis and that adult males with arteriosclerosis develop urolithiasis more easily than those without.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephro-urology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan. yasui@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasui
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Gao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bing
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tozawa
authors.forename: Kenjiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kohri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications*; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000150:complications*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002784:Cholesterol; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052878:Urolithiasis / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol