Kidney Facts

Care for Your Kidneys – Stay Healthy for Life

Vital Facts on Kidneys:

• Kidneys are about 12 cm in length
• Kidneys filter about 180L of blood every day.
• Every day, kidneys filter the blood about 50 times
• Each kidney contains 1 000 000 functional units called nephrons

What is Chronic Kidney Disease?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), also known as chronic renal disease, is a progressive loss in renal function over a period of months or years. Chronic kidney failure is a progressive irreversible deterioration in renal function in which the body’s ability to maintain metabolic, fluid and electrolyte balance fails, resulting in uremia which render the patient to depend up on hemodialysis for the maintenance of the internal milieu and to avoid uremia. In recent times, awareness about chronic kidney disease and its burden on the society is on the rise.

Research Facts: Kidney Health#

- The World Health Organization (2002) estimates that the diseases of the kidney and urinary tract contribute to over 850000 deaths and over 15 million disability-adjusted life years.

- In India the projected number of deaths due to Chronic Kidney Disease ( CKD ) will rise from 3.78 million in 1990 to an expected 7.63 million in 2020.

- Chronic diseases have become a major cause of global morbidity and mortality even in developing countries. India currently has 820+ nephrologists, 710+ hemodialysis units with 2,500+ dialysis stations and 4,800+ patients. There are 172+ transplant centers, two-thirds of which are in South India and mostly privately run. Nearly 3,500 transplants are done annually, the total number of cadaver donors being approximately 700 till now. Thus, taken together, nearly 18,000-20,000 patients (10% of new end stage of renal disease cases) in India get renal replacement therapy. Thus, in India there is still a long way to go with respect to chronic kidney disease. Until then, in a country like India, screening of high-risk individuals for chronic kidney disease and the risk factors is the best bet.

- As per press information shared by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Cases of Kidney Ailments in India, “The exact numbers of cases of persons suffering from kidney diseases and deaths due to kidney ailments is not known. However, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), which is a cause of kidney failure, has been studied in India by small population based studies. It was found that prevalence of chronic kidney disease of moderate severity in Indian adults was 0.79% in North India. (In a small study from south India, reported prevalence of kidney diseases was 0.16% though the study was not aimed to find out magnitude of problem of kidney disease)

Indian Society of Nephrology has also come out with guidelines which could be adopted:

There is a need to impart more knowledge on renal disease at both the UG & PG levels
Provide training to physicians and general practitioners to improve the early diagnosis and referrals and enhance awareness of the general public about kidney diseases
Research on CKD should include studies on the prevalence, risk factors assessment etc., at the community level.
Other areas include study of renal parameters, GFR profiles both in normal individuals and diseased populations and related physiological studies
Estimate the profile of CKD at various stages, with special reference to pre-ESRD in the community.

Golden Rules to take care of your Kidney

Keep fit and active
Monitor your blood pressure
Eat healthy and keep your weight in check
Maintain a healthy fluid intake
Do not smoke
Do not take over-the-counter pills on a regular basis
Check your kidney function if you have one or more of the ‘high risk’ factors

# Reference link: http://icmr.nic.in/ijmr/2007/april/editorial2.pdf, http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=90666 , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19194110