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March 13 is the World Kidney Day 2014.
The status of chronic kidney disease (CKD) all over the world is quite alarming. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden of Disease Project, kidney disease along with urinary tract problems account for nearly 850,000 deaths every year. The main reason for increasing incidence of kidney disease is the fact that people are not aware about the impact of unhealthy lifestyle and early diagnosis on their kidney health.
Increasing cases of kidney disease in youth:
There has been a rise in the number of younger people in their 20s showing up with Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD), say doctors. Factors like obesity, consumption of oily food (leading to early onset of diabetes), consumption of protein-rich supplements for body building without medical advice and smoking are some reasons that have caused the rise in youth. Other reasons for early CKD include:
Kidney disease is a silent killer
According to Dr Saurabh Pokhariyal, director, Nephrology and Renal Transplant, FMRI, 10% of the general population suffers from some form of renal impairment, which if not taken care of would eventually lead to a CKD, the prevalence of which is 1% in India. Kidney disease occurs gradually and is not noticed until the damage significantly reduces your kidney function. Therefore it is essential for you to get your kidney function assessed after you cross your 50S.
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease.
'Illness or injury prevents the blood-filtering units (nephrons) of the kidneys from functioning properly. When the kidneys lose their functionality, fluids, salts and waste can build up in the bloodstream. This is called kidney failure,' explains Dr Salil Jain, senior consultant, Nephrology and Renal Transplant.
Early diagnosis can prevent the condition from progressing
Dr Jain highlights the need for awareness among people as well as the medical fraternity to detect the disease at an early stage. He explains, 'The problem is attributed to poor lifestyle practices which increases the incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure and delay in getting regular health checks done.' If you know the status of your kidney function, you can make lifestyle and dietary changes early and save you kidneys from deteriorating completely.
Here are 8 tests for checking if your kidneys are functioning fine.
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