Kidney disease incidence is rising quickly, although society as a whole has relatively little understanding of the condition. The cost of treating chronic Kidney diseases in their advanced stages is very much on the high side. Therefore, the necessity for early detection and prevention.
By Scientific Animation , CC BY-SA 4.0, wikimedia
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF KIDNEY DISEASES
The National Kidney Foundation estimates that 20 million Americans have chronic kidney disease and at least a further 20 million people have an increased risk. A study by Nwankwo et al reported an incidence of 45.5% of impaired kidney function among hospitalised hypertensive patients in Maiduguri, Nigeria
From these statistics, we can obviously see that Kidney diseases remain a serious concern in our environment and it is currently regarded as a public health problem. Here in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, it’s a regular case we see in both the clinic and the wards.
Kidney diseases can be Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) or Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Acute kidney injury occurs suddenly over a short period of time due to an insult or injury to the kidneys, while Chronic Kidney disease occurs over time. And the causes of both types of kidney diseases are very common in our environment.
CAUSES OF KIDNEY DISEASES
Now let's look at the common causes of kidney diseases around us.
The common causes of acute kidney injury differ between the developed and developing countries. Where as the commonest causes in developed countries occur in hospitalised and older patients, the common causes in developing countries are usually due to environmental and community acquired factors.
In developed countries,
it occurs mostly in patients in Intensive Care Unit with multiple organ disorders, also in patients who had cardiac and major organ surgeries such liver transplant and also from post operative sepsis
By CDC, Public Domain, wikimedia
However, in developing countries, the major causes of acute kidney injury are infections like
- Acute glomerulonephritis.
- Massive blood loss from road traffic accident, surgery etc. This we mostly in the Accident and Emergency unit here.
- Dehydration and cardiogenic shock from massive fluid loss like diarrhoeal diseases, severe burns, intestinal obstruction, etc.
- Viral haemorrhagic fevers like Ebola, Lassa fever, yellow fever , etc.
- Bacterial sepsis and toxaemias.
- Arthropod stings and snake venom exposures.
- Herbal toxins like Traditional and Chinese herbal toxins.
- Drugs and chemical toxins, NSAIDS like Ibuprofen, Antibiotics like aminoglycosides, gentamicin .
- Pregnancy and child birth. Obstetric haemorrhages and sepsis.
From the above we can see that these things are very common in our environment and we must be aware of them and prevent them. I am currently assisting in a study on acute kidney injury patients and the statistics is really very worrisome.
For the Chronic Kidney diseases, the causes includes ; Diabetes mellitus,
Hypertension, Urinary Tract Infections, kidney stones,Chronic glomerulonephritis,
Chronic use of NSAID’s -; Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are very common drugs that must of us use. They include Ibuprofen, Diclofenac etc that we use for pain relief. Long term use or abuse of these drugs can lead to kidney damage.
RISK FACTORS FOR KIDNEY DISEASES
Some of the things that can put one at the risk of kidney damage includes;
Diabetes, Hypertension, Alcoholism Hyperlipidemia/obesity etc
PREVENTION OF KIDNEY FAILURE
The early stages of kidney diseases usually don't show any signs and symptoms until a greater part of the kidney has been damaged. So early detection as well as prevention is very key to preventing this problem.
You can prevent kidney failure by adopting a healthy lifestyle;
- Avoid excessive intake of alcohol
- Avoid smoking
- Maintain good control of your blood pressure. Some people don't even know their blood pressure. Please check yours today.
- If you have diabetes, control your blood sugar.
- Weight control is very important
- Avoid abuse or Chronic use of pain relievers. Over-the-counter pain relievers can cause kidney damage. Follow the directions on the packages, take as needed, and discuss the use of pain relievers with your doctor if you have any kidney concerns.
With all these, we will be able to avoid this global rising trend in kidney diseases!
References
- WHO
- CDC