| dc.description.abstract | Keywords: Boron supplement, anthropometric indicators, serum and urine biochemical indicators, kidney stone size, quality of life, clinical symptoms, food frequen
Background: Kidney stone disease is one of the most common urinary tract diseases with a high recurrence rate. In recent years, the role of trace elements in kidney stone formation has been considered and it has been shown that some trace elements may increase or decrease the rate of crystallization process. Some studies have suggested that boron supplementation may be effective in the prevention or treatment of kidney stones. The present study was designed to determine the effect of boron supplementation on nutritional status, kidney stone size, improvement of clinical symptoms and some serum and urine biochemical indices in patients with kidney stones.
Materials and methods: The present study was conducted as a double-blind clinical trial on 53 patients aged 20 to 65 years with kidney stones. For this purpose, eligible individuals were selected using a general call and after completing the consent form, they were randomly assigned to one of three supplement groups with a combination of boron citrate, boric acid, and placebo. Boron citrate and boric acid supplements at a dose of 10 mg (based on studies) and placebo containing corn starch at a similar dose were packaged in capsules in similar containers and given to the subjects every four weeks. The subjects consumed one capsule of the aforementioned supplements daily for an 8-week study period. At the beginning and end of the study, blood was drawn (after 10-12 hours of fasting) to determine serum levels of ionized calcium, phosphorus, uric acid, urea, creatinine, and alkaline phosphatase, as well as urine sample collection and analysis of urine composition. The size of the kidney stones was determined by ultrasound at the beginning and end of the study. Demographic information, clinical symptoms of the patients, quality of life and food frequency were examined using relevant questionnaires. Also, the subjects were asked not to change their diet and physical activity during the study. The data were analyzed with SPSS. 26 software and using appropriate statistical methods for each variable and adjusting for confounding variables such as age and gender and baseline values and body weight.
Results: In the present study, boron supplementation did not significantly reduce most anthropometric indices compared to placebo. Although a small but significant decrease in BMI and weight was observed in the boron citrate intervention group compared to the initial levels. In comparing the three groups at the end of the study, only the waist-to-hip ratio showed a significant difference between the three groups after adjusting for confounding variables (models 1 and 2) (P = 0.047 and P = 0.048, respectively), which resulted in a significant change in the boron citrate group compared to the changes in the other groups. Also, during the comparison of groups in terms of biochemical indices, only a significant and relatively significant decrease in blood urea level was observed in the boric acid group (P = 0.013) compared to the initial values and also compared to the other groups, and urinary phosphorus level was observed in the boron citrate group (P = 0.02) compared to the initial values.Although no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of the number and size of kidney stones, clinical symptoms, and quality of life, based on the results obtained, there was a slight but clinically significant decrease in stone size in all 3 groups, which was statistically significant only in the boric acid group compared to the beginning of the study (P = 0.044). In terms of the number of kidney stones, there was also a slight and significant decrease in the boric acid group compared to the beginning of the study (P = 0.046). Comparison of changes before and after intervention in each group showed that boron citrate significantly reduced the sensation of pain in the side, back, and under the ribs (P = 0.016) and reduced nausea and vomiting (P = 0.039), and boric acid significantly reduced the fluctuation of pain intensity, with periods of continuous pain lasting 20-60 minutes (P = 0.031) and the sensation of pain from the side and back to the lower abdomen and groin (P = 0.031) and a significant reduction in bloody, dark, foul-smelling urine (P = 0.08). Both boric acid and boron citrate significantly reduced the constant feeling of needing to urinate (P = 0.031 and P = 0.016, respectively).
Conclusion: In the present study, boron supplementation did not significantly reduce most of the anthropometric and biochemical indices of serum and urine compared to placebo, and only waist-to-hip ratio, blood urea, and urine phosphate showed significant reductions compared to placebo. Therefore, more trials with higher doses and duration of intervention and more biochemical studies seem necessary to confirm the results. | en_US |
