Chronic Kidney Disease Called a Growing Public Health Threat
National Kidney Foundation Urges Americans to Know The Risk Factors
Once Valentine’s Day is past and it’s back to relationships as usual, it’s easy to begin taking the people we love for granted—especially those who show their love in quiet, daily acts of support that enable us to focus on our busy lives. It’s just as easy, and risky, for people to take their health for granted—especially kidney health. March is National Kidney Month, and World Kidney Day is March 12. The National Kidney Foundation encourages Americans to mark these occasions by considering some of the many ways their kidneys quietly support their health day-to-day (filtering their blood, controlling blood pressure, supporting healthy bones) and how much their health will suffer if they develop chronic kidney disease.
The bad news. A major study of data from the National Kidney Foundation’s free, nationwide Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP) for those at risk for chronic kidney disease warns that CKD is becoming “a global public health problem” due to pandemic rates of obesity, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes—all risk factors for CKD. The study also documents a heightened risk of premature heart attack, stroke and death among young and middle-aged adults with CKD. “We used to think chronic kidney disease was associated with aging,” says Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH, vice chair of the KEEP Program, who led the study. “When we took age out of the equation, we found that it can affect even young adults.”
The good news: Dr. McCullough and his colleagues were able to identify which of two simple tests better detects early signs of CKD and urged medical practitioners to use both tests when screening those at risk. The hope, he says, is that early-alert testing will motivate people to make positive lifestyle changes “including losing body fat, controlling blood pressure, treating diabetes, and quitting smoking” that can help slow the disease before it advances.
The problem: Medical practitioners can administer these potentially life-saving tests only to people who present themselves for early screening—something that people unaware of their risk status are unlikely do. “Chronic kidney disease is a silent killer because most people feel fine until it’s advanced,” says Leslie Spry, MD, spokesperson for the National Kidney Foundation. “If you wait until you have symptoms to be tested, you’ve waited too long.”
The solution: It’s often said that “love means paying attention.” The National Kidney Foundation urges Americans to familiarize themselves with the risk factors for CKD as a critical first step toward focusing on kidney health. Some 26 million Americans (13 percent of the U.S. adult population) currently suffer from CKD, and the vast majority didn’t know it until they were diagnosed through testing. If you have one or more of the following risk factors, the National Kidney Foundation urges you to talk to your doctor about being screened.
Primary Risk Factors |
Secondary Risk Factors |
|---|---|
• Diabetes |
• Obesity |
• High blood pressure |
• Autoimmune diseases |
• Heart disease |
• Urinary tract and/or systemic infections |
• Family history of CKD |
• Overuse over-the-counter painkillers |
• Age 60 or older |
• Kidney loss, damage, injury or infection |
The National Kidney Foundation urges all Americans to love their kidneys. To learn more about CKD risk factors, prevention and treatment, visit www.kidney.org. The National Kidney Foundation will also offer free kidney screenings to people at risk for CKD in a number of cities across the U.S. on World Kidney Day, March 12. For locations and schedules, visit www.kidney.org
The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well being of individuals and families affected by these diseases, influencing public policy in support of the kidney community and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.
The National Kidney Foundation would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of World Kidney Day activities in the United States.
Sponsors:
