On Monday, the results of a new medical study brought forward a rather surprising fact: the continuous global rise in temperatures will also bring, besides the obvious environment-related repercussions, higher chances for people to develop kidney stone conditions.

The researchers at the University of Texas came up with a scientific explanation for this: heat makes people sweat; as fluid is eliminated from the body, the urine’s salt concentration increases, thus accelerating the rate at which stones form.

In the case of the US, the study’s authors said that by 2050, 1.6 million to 2.2 million new kidney-stone cases will be recorded; if such numbers will indeed be reached, treatment charges may cost the US financial system up to one billion dollars.

The study’s head author, Tom Brikowski, by using information on kidney stone rates and temperature forecasts, managed to put together two mathematical patterns for calculating the impact kidney-stone conditions will have on future generations.

While one of the formulae indicated an upcoming frequency boost in the already identified "kidney stone belt" in the southeastern region of the US (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee), the other found the future hot spot to be in the upper Midwest.

The most accessible source of information, the Internet, is full of tips and ideas people can easily adopt in order to avoid any effects the rising temperature may bring along. Drinking more water for instance should do the trick. However, specialists showed themselves rather skeptical with regard to changing the drinking habits for the entire population of such a large area.