"With Some Ailments, a Second 'Partner' Illness May Follow"
Certain illnesses may put you at risk of having another — a “partner condition” — come along for the ride. For instance, high blood pressure may help boost diabetes risks. Researchers aren’t always certain why some medical issues appear to lead to others. It may be that one disease causes another or that underlying health factors create circumstances that make it more likely you’ll develop both. There’s a long-known link between metabolic syndrome and kidney stones, said Mantu Gupta, MD, chair of the department of urology at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s. The cause of the association isn’t yet known, but some think that metabolic-syndrome-related damage to tiny blood vessels in the kidneys may play a key role — creating inflammation that may lead to stone formation, Dr. Gupta says.
— Mantu Gupta, MD, Professor, Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Chair, Department of Urology, Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Director, Endourology and Stone Disease, Mount Sinai Health System