Hyderabad: Today (March 8) is World Kidney Day. It is observed on March 8 every year, with an aims to raise global awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease(CKD) and other ailments affecting kidneys.It is also aimed to encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment.World Kidney Day started in 2006 and has not stopped growing ever since. Every year, the campaign highlights a particular theme. This year World Kidney Day and the International Women’s Day 2018 are commemorated on the same day. It also its 13th anniversary, World Kidney Day and aimed to promote affordable and equitable access to health education, healthcare and prevention for kidney diseases for all women and girls in the world.
CKD is a worldwide public health problem with adverse outcomes of kidney failure and premature death. CKD affects approximately 19.5 crore women worldwide and it is currently the 8th leading cause of death in women, with close to 600,000 deaths each year. Over 2.8 lakh people affected with CKD who need a kidney transplant and one lakh people add to this every year. According to some studies, CKD is more likely to develop in women compared with men, with an average 14% prevalence in women and 12% in men. However, the number of women on dialysis is lower than the number of men.Kidney transplantation is also unequally spread, mostly due to social, cultural and psychological aspects: even when our country provides kidney transplantation and equitable treatment for men and women, women tend more often to donate kidneys and are less likely to receive them. There is indeed a clear need to address issues of equitable healthcare access for women where it is currently lacking and increase awareness and education to facilitate women’s access to treatment and better health outcomes.
Kidneys are vital organs whose proper functioning is essential for life. “CKD disproportionately impacting low- and middle-income families where growth in obesity and diabetes is greatest,” said Dr. Sashi Kiran, Senior Nephrologist & Liver Transplant Physician, Yashoda Hospitals – Malakpet. In the majority of instances early kidney disease is asymptomatic ie there are no visible signs or symptoms to tell us that we are starting to have kidney disease. “Once kidney disease gets established it becomes irreversible in 3-6 months Hence it becomes very important to diagnose at early stages of the disease and start treatment,” explained Dr. Sashi Kiran.