NIH Radio
Many People are Unaware that they have Chronic Kidney Disease
Brief Description:
A growing number of Americans have chronic kidney disease and don't know it.
Transcript:
Akinso: A growing number of Americans have chronic kidney disease and don't know it. This trend is hampering efforts to prevent irreversible kidney failure according to a study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. An estimated 26 million people now have chronic kidney disease, says Dr. Paul Eggers, co-author of the study. He talks about some of the elements that factor in the increase of chronic kidney disease in the U.S. population.
Dr. Eggers: We, in the paper, show some reasons which are easily defined. And that is the aging of the American population; kidney function decline with age so that's an important criteria. The increasing degree of obesity as well as diabetes in the American population also explains apart of it. And a very, very small part would be explained I guess by increases of the minority population. However that leaves a very large perhaps afore more of the increase as explained. And in fact we don't have an explanation for that.
Akinso: Dr. Eggers says though the awareness of chronic kidney disease has increased from previous years; most people still don't know they have it.
Dr. Eggers: Less than half maybe 40 percent or so are aware that they have impaired kidney function. There are a number of reasons for this but probably the most salient reason is that chronic kidney disease is a silent disease. There are very few symptoms that go with this, the major symptom which really only shows up at the highest level of impairment is maybe fatigue. And of course if you also consider that this occurs largely in the elderly then it becomes a matter of is it anemia, is this kidney disease. So without actual measurement and consultation with the physician it's pretty darn easy to miss this.
Akinso: Kidney disease raises the risk of early death, heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure. In 2005, at least 107,000 Americans learned they had kidney failure which requires dialysis or a transplant. Dr. Andrew Narva, a kidney specialist from the NIDDK, explains how this study impacts public health.
Dr. Narva: The importance of this study is that it shows that there's a large proportion of the population which has kidney disease and that most people aren't aware of it. So it's important for people who are in high risk groups would include all racial and ethnic minorities, people with diabetes, people with a family history of kidney disease and people with hypertension to be screened for kidney disease.
Akinso: Dr. Narva said if an individual is at risk of this disease they should be screened for kidney damage with routine blood and urine tests. This is Wally Akinso at the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland.
About This Audio Report
Date: 12/21/2007
Reporter: Wally Akinso
Sound Bite: Dr. Paul Eggers, Dr. Andrew Narva
Topic: Chronic Kidney Disease
Institute(s): NIDDK
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