Diabetes and high blood pressure are the leading causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with approximately 10 per cent of the global population, including children, affected by some form of kidney damage, experts said at the SOA University on Thursday.
“The latest numbers show that CKD is likely to increase to 17 per cent of the world population by end of the decade. It is now recognised by the WHO and other organisations as a global public health issue,” they said while addressing a gathering organised to mark the World Kidney Day.
The day’s theme this year was ‘Kidney Disease and Children: Act early to prevent it’.
“Children are found to be born with kidney disease while others develop it when still very young. The symptoms of kidney disease in children are often nonspecific, which means that there is a risk that kidney problems may be missed in children,” Dr RN Sahoo, Head of the Department of Nephrology at Sum Hospital, said.
He said the main causes of kidney failure in childhood are hereditary conditions, often lacking obvious indicators like RBC in urine, high blood pressure or swelling.Prof Gangadhar Sahu said it is now possible to even treat the foetal kidneys before the birth of the baby.
People suffering from kidney failure have two options; either to go in for periodic dialysis which is a costly affair or for onetime kidney transplantation which is a much better option, he said adding nine out of ten persons suffering from CKD have high blood pressure.