Nellore: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), recognised by the World Health Organisation as a global public health issue, is predicted to increase by 17 per cent over the next decade.
As per the WHO, 10 per cent of the world's population has some form of kidney damage. There is an urgent need to raise awareness about the dangers of kidney disease, said noted nephrologist Dr K. Praveen Kumar.
Speaking at an event to mark World Kidney Day at Nellore on Thursday, Dr Kumar, chief nephrologist at Narayana General Hospital, said some children were born with kidney diseases and others develop it when still very young. The symptoms in children are often non-specific, which means that there is a risk that they may be missed.
The leading causes of kidney failure in children are hereditary conditions, often lacking obvious indicators such as hematuria (red blood cells in the urine), hypertension (high blood pressure) or oedema (swelling).
Additionally, kidney disease that becomes evident in adulthood may occur more often in persons with risk factors that can be detected in childhood. It is therefore crucial that we encourage and facilitate education, early detection and a healthy lifestyle in children, starting at birth and continuing through to old age, to combat the increase of preventable kidney damage including Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and CKD and to treat children with inborn and acquired disorders of the kidney.
Meanwhile, 300 nursing students, 100 medical students and doctors and 100 members from various voluntary organisations took part in a rally taken out in Nellore on the occasion of World Kidney Day.
