Nephrologists have warned against the rising incidence of kidney
failure, citing diabetes and high blood pressure as chief causes.
They said people should preserve their kidneys as it is cheaper to do
that than seeking treatment to restore failed kidneys.
A former President, Nigerian Association of Nephrologists (NAN), Dr Ebun
Bamgboye, said people should control their diabetes and high blood pressure,
also known as hypertension.
For him, the answer to prevention or delay of severe kidney disease is
early detection and aggressive intervention. This, he said, will help to slow
down the progression to kidney failure.
“Medical care with early intervention can change the course of chronic
kidney disease and help prevent the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.
“Diabetes and high blood pressure account for two-third of chronic
kidney disease cases. By aggressively managing diabetes and high blood pressure
with diet, exercise and medication, people should be able to prevent kidney
failure and help keep as much kidney functions as possible,” Bamgboye said.
The expert also recommended diet, which is low in fat and salt, adding
that people should exercise most days of the week.
Bamgboye, Head, Dialysis/Transplant Unit of St. Nicholas Hospital in
Lagos, said people should ensure that they have regular check-ups and avoid
tobacco while those who take alcohol should limit its consumption or abstain
from it.
People, he said, should avoid self-medication because it is capable of
inhibiting the system and affecting the kidneys.
“
They
should drink lots of water daily. People should also consume fresh food and
avoid junk. They should not abuse drugs. Most people sheepishly destroy their
kidneys because of the kind of medication they take. We are in a country where
many are their own doctors. A lot of people are guilty of not seeing doctors
for prescriptions. They buy drugs across the counter,” he said.
Attention, he said, should be devoted to kidneys disease because it
affects every part of the body.
People, according to Bamgboye, should test for kidney disease at least
twice a year to know their state.
He said: “With necessary tests people can detect kidney problems and prevent
them from progressing. That way they can stop kidney disease complications. The
focus should be to get people to be aware of what the kidneys are and what they
need to do to make sure they did not develop the disease.”
A nephrologist at Apollo Hospitals, India, Dr Kavitar Parihar, said many
people are gradually losing their kidneys’ function and this is not limited to
Nigeria alone.
According to him, when chronic kidney disease (CKD) reaches an advanced
stage, dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes can build up in the
body.
“In Africa, CKD affects mainly young adults between 20 to 50 years, and
it is primarily due to hypertension and glomerular diseases, unlike developed
countries, where CKD presents in middle-aged and the elderly predominantly due
to diabetes mellitus and hypertension,” he said.
The kidney expert said: “The current dialysis treatment rate ranges from
70 per million populations (pmp) in South Africa is greater than 20 pmp in
countries in Africa. The transplant rate in Africa averages four pmp and is 9.2
pmp in South Africa.”
He said the goal to tackle the renal failure for any country should be
to have a circumscribed chronic dialysis programme, with as short a time on
dialysis as possible. This, he said, would increase the availability of
transplantation (both living related and cadaver) and promotion of prevention
strategies at all levels of health care.
Parihar said the screening for kidney disease in high-risk populations,
especially of patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus and a family
history of kidney disease, should be instituted as the first step in kidney
disease prevention in developing countries.
He listed risk factors of kidney failure as diabetes, high blood
pressure and heart disease. Others are smoking, obesity, high cholesterol,
being African-American, native American or Asian-American and family history of
kidney disease.
-
Posted: 20/May/2016
Nephrologists
have warned against the rising incidence of kidney failure, citing
diabetes and high blood pressure as chief causes.
They said people should preserve their kidneys as it is cheaper to do that than seeking treatment to restore failed kidneys.
A
former President, Nigerian Association of Nephrologists (NAN), Dr Ebun
Bamgboye, said people should control their diabetes and high blood
pressure, also known as hypertension.
For
him, the answer to prevention or delay of severe kidney disease is
early detection and aggressive intervention. This, he said, will help to
slow down the progression to kidney failure.
“Medical
care with early intervention can change the course of chronic kidney
disease and help prevent the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.
“Diabetes
and high blood pressure account for two-third of chronic kidney disease
cases. By aggressively managing diabetes and high blood pressure with
diet, exercise and medication, people should be able to prevent kidney
failure and help keep as much kidney functions as possible,” Bamgboye
said.
The expert also recommended diet, which is low in fat and salt, adding that people should exercise most days of the week.
Bamgboye,
Head, Dialysis/Transplant Unit of St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos, said
people should ensure that they have regular check-ups and avoid tobacco
while those who take alcohol should limit its consumption or abstain
from it.
People, he said, should avoid self-medication because it is capable of inhibiting the system and affecting the kidneys.
“They
should drink lots of water daily. People should also consume fresh food
and avoid junk. They should not abuse drugs. Most people sheepishly
destroy their kidneys because of the kind of medication they take. We
are in a country where many are their own doctors. A lot of people are
guilty of not seeing doctors for prescriptions. They buy drugs across
the counter,” he said.
Attention, he said, should be devoted to kidneys disease because it affects every part of the body.
People, according to Bamgboye, should test for kidney disease at least twice a year to know their state.
He
said: “With necessary tests people can detect kidney problems and
prevent them from progressing. That way they can stop kidney disease
complications. The focus should be to get people to be aware of what the
kidneys are and what they need to do to make sure they did not develop
the disease.”
A
nephrologist at Apollo Hospitals, India, Dr Kavitar Parihar, said many
people are gradually losing their kidneys’ function and this is not
limited to Nigeria alone.
According
to him, when chronic kidney disease (CKD) reaches an advanced stage,
dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes can build up in the
body.
“In
Africa, CKD affects mainly young adults between 20 to 50 years, and it
is primarily due to hypertension and glomerular diseases, unlike
developed countries, where CKD presents in middle-aged and the elderly
predominantly due to diabetes mellitus and hypertension,” he said.
The
kidney expert said: “The current dialysis treatment rate ranges from 70
per million populations (pmp) in South Africa is greater than 20 pmp in
countries in Africa. The transplant rate in Africa averages four pmp
and is 9.2 pmp in South Africa.”
He
said the goal to tackle the renal failure for any country should be to
have a circumscribed chronic dialysis programme, with as short a time on
dialysis as possible. This, he said, would increase the availability of
transplantation (both living related and cadaver) and promotion of
prevention strategies at all levels of health care.
Parihar
said the screening for kidney disease in high-risk populations,
especially of patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus and a
family history of kidney disease, should be instituted as the first step
in kidney disease prevention in developing countries.
He
listed risk factors of kidney failure as diabetes, high blood pressure
and heart disease. Others are smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, being
African-American, native American or Asian-American and family history
of kidney disease.
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