An epidemiological study of renal lithiasis in gypsies and others in Spain.

A comparative epidemiological study was done on renal lithiasis in gypsies and nongypsies in Eastern Andalucía, Spain. A family history of lithiasis in gypsies was obtained 2 to 3 times less often compared to nongypsies (1.14 versus 4.34 per cent). The male-to-female ratio of gypsies with lithiasis was 0.59 per cent compared to 1.54 per cent in others. The inverse ratio in gypsies contrasted with those obtained by various authors in western countries of white and black populations. There was a predominance of immediate family history of lithiasis in gypsies with stones (p less than 0.001, 11.81 per cent), which was not observed among nongypsies (p equals 0.80). The incidence of consanguineous marriage among gypsies was high (26.95 per cent) compared to others (4.07 per cent). There was a dependent relationship in gypsies between family history of lithiasis and consumption of meat products (p equals 0.001), dairy products and food rich in oxalic acid (p equals 0.05). In nongypsies these differences were less significant statistically and were nonexistent in the incidence of consumption of food containing oxalic acid. We ascribe the difference in the incidence of lithiasis between gypsies and other subjects principally to hereditary and dietary factors.