Washington, May 15 (ANI): Global warming may lead to an increase in kidney stones disease, says a new study.

Dehydration has been linked to stone disease, mainly in warmer climates, and global warming will worsen this effect, according to the researchers.

As a result, the prevalence of stone disease may increase, along with the costs of treating the condition.

Using published data to determine the temperature-dependence of stone disease, researchers applied predictions of temperature increase to determine the impact of global warming on the incidence and cost of stone disease in the United States.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates a 1-20 C increase in temperature by 2050 for much of the United States. These findings place a greater significance on the harmful effects of global warming, an ongoing economic and political issue.

The southern United States is considered "the stone belt" because these states have higher incidences of kidney stones. Rising global temperatures could expand this region; the fraction of the U.S. population living in high-risk stone zones is predicted to grow from 40 percent in 2000 to 50 percent by 2050.

This could lead to an increase of one to two million lifetime cases of stone disease. The impact of climate-related changes in stone disease will be non-uniformly distributed and likely concentrated in the southern half of the country (linear model) or upper Midwest (non-linear model).

The cost associated with treating stone disease could climb as high as one 1 billion dollars annually by 2050, representing a 10-20 percent increase over present-day estimates.

The study was presented at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association. (ANI)