World Kidney Day: 1 in ten people in Goa has kidney disease
POSTED March 11, 2010 - 14:37 | POSTED BY Abby Kapoor
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on March 11, 2010 - 15:34
They say that there has been rise in the number of renal failure reported among young population, people in 20s' and late thirties, which is due to the changing lifestyle.
In India, one in five people are suffering from diabetes and one-tenth suffering from some form of kidney disease. Diabetes Mellitus is the most common cause for chronic kidney disease, about 40 percent. The theme of this year World Kidney Day is: “Protect Your Kidneys - Control Diabetes.”
The experts warned that the threat from diabetic kidney disease is more serious than even cancer and cardiac diseases.
In India, there are only 800 nephrologists who are attending to a large number of kidney patients, which is hardly any number looking at the population of the country.
Goa and kidney disease
A large number of people suffering from kidney disease are coming from Canacona taluka, Goa, many of whom have succumbed to the disease.
Though no exact figures are available on the number of persons suffering from the disease over the years in Goa, it is clear the figure is increasing.
Dr Shital Lengade, consultant nephrologist and transplant physician at Apollo Victor Hospital, said, “Over a period of one week recently at Apollo’s I saw 30 patients from Canacona alone coming for dialysis.”
"We get at least four cases of young people requiring dialysis or a transplant a month. While 50% of patients suffer from early diabetes or hypertension, the other 50% suffer from inflammation of the kidneys that aggravates either because the problem was not detected on time or overlooked in the early years,” Dr Lengade added.
He says that there could be multiple reasons or causative factors for the type of renal failure which is observed in people from Canacona.
Dr Lengade, said, “Canacona contributes to 25 per cent of patients coming for dialysis at different hospitals. Most of these patients are in the last stages of the disease. There are more patients in the early phases of kidney failure.”
Causes of chronic kidney disease
The most common cause for chronic kidney disease is Diabetes Mellitus, which accounts for about 40 percent of the cases.
The other causes for chronic kidney disease are hypertension, urinary tract infection (UTI), glomerulonephritis, stone disease, sautoimmune disease, such as SLE, and congenital diseases like polycystic kidney disease, Dr Lengade says.
