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# Fructose consumption linked to kidney stones
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/fructose_kidney_stones_0915130915/
- Published: 2013-09-15T10:14:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:09:57.000Z
- Description: Pooling 48 years of follow-up across three large cohorts and 4,902 kidney stone cases, researchers found participants in the highest quintile of fructose intake faced significantly higher stone risk than those in the lowest. Starch and glucose showed no such association.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Food, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

Sunday Sept 15, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study in Kidney International suggests that eating cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup may increase risk of developing kidney stones.

The study led by E N Taylor and G C Curhan of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, USA shows that men and women with high intakes of fructose were more likely to develop kidney stones compared with those with low intakes.

The authors say that fructose intake may increase the urinary excretion of calcium, oxalate, uric acid, and other factors associated with the formation of kidney stones. The study was intended to examine the association of fructose consumption with risk of kidney stones.

The association was derived from data on food consumption and cases of kidney stones collected from the Nurses' Health Study I (NHS I) (93,730 older women), the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II) (101, 824 younger women), and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (45,984 men). 

During a combined 48 years of follow-up, 4,902 cases of incident kidney stones were identified. Multivariate analysis of relevant data revealed that risk of kidney stones significantly increased in participants in the highest quintile of total fructose intake, compared with the lowest quintile. The association was found in all three studies.

Free fructose such as fructose in high fructose corn syrup was also associated with increased risk of kidney stones.

On the other hand, non-fructose carbohydrates such as starch and glucose were not associated with increased risk in any study group.

The researchers concluded "Our study suggests that fructose intake is independently associated with an increased risk of incident kidney stones."

Fructose is found in cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup and many fruits/fruit juices. This sugar is commonly used in all sorts of soft drinks or sodas and processed foods.

Fructose is also associated with other medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes and other symptoms of metabolic syndrome. (DL)