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Objectives:
The objective of this project is to assess the dietary practices of patients who suffer from renal stones and
their knowledge of their diet and lifestyle as contributing factors, as well as their knowledge of alternative
treatment/remedies to surgery and their attitude towards the prevention and treatment of renal stones in
Trinidad and Tobago. Due to lack of epidemiological data, one of the objectives of this research is to
establish relationships of gender, diet and lifestyle with respect to the formation of renal stones.

It is hoped that raised awareness among people susceptible to developing renal stones will enable the
population to make appropriate lifestyle and dietary modifications.

Methodology:
A total of 100 questionnaires were prepared, containing questions that were vital to our research. The
resaerch team targeted patients who were at public hospitals and clinics. The patient was required to complete
the questionnaire and return it to members who were awaiting the completed form. This was done between
the period of Feburary and April 2010. After all the questionnaires were completed, the data were compiled
and entered; and analysed using the SPSS program. From this, the results were interpreted and used to
formulate relationships between key factors and to establish the knowledge, attitude and dietary practices
among renal stone patients.

Results:
A total of 99 kidney stone patients completed the questionnaires. The results generated indicated that the
majority (64%) of these patients were males as compared to 36% females. A significant 60% of them
presented with a family history of kidney stones while 30% did not, whereas 10% did not know of any family
history of f kidney stones. 54% of these patients had no knowledge of alternative therapies for the treatment
of kidney stones, while 46% heard of alternatives. 25% of the respondents agreed that certain foods increased
colicky pain whereas 23% reported no foods that did such. However, a significant 51% did not know or were
not sure of any foods that increased colicky pain. A major finding is that 66% of the respondents consume
alcohol where 28% admitted that they do so on special occasions, 19% admitted once a month and 18% said
once a week. The minority (34%) said that they do not consume alcohol. The results of this research
confirmed that the majority of the participants (48%) always drink less than eight glasses of water a day. 33%
claimed that they sometimes drink less than eight glassed water per day while 19% never do so.
·onclusion:
From the results of this research, it was concluded that the incidence of renal stones is higher among males
than females. Those most susceptible to kidney stones usually have a family history of it. A significant
number of people have no knowledge of alternatives remedies to treat kidney stones and also have no
knowledge on foods that increase colicky pain. Alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing kidney
stones, in addition to drinking less than eight glasses of water for the day.