With the increasing number of cases of diabetes both in India and Asia, the prevalence and incidence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) are also on the rise, according to experts.
"Number of diabetes cases has been rising and almost 30 to 40 per cent of all diabetics have been noticed to have CKD," said Dr Vidya Acharya, a renowned Nephrologist.
"Diabetes is now a major cause of End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) with failure throughout the world in both developed and developing nations," Acharya, Chief Nephrologist and Advisor, Gopikrishna Piramal Memorial Hospital said on the eve of World Kidney Day.
"A strategy to detect kidney disease by screening all high risk populations is an important step in prevention. The National Kidney Foundation of India together with Narmada Kidney Foundation and Mumbai Kidney foundation, are all working towards achieving this goal of early detection and prevention of further progression," the nephrologists of all the foundations said.
India's national CKD registry organised under the auspices of Indian Society of Nephrology and housed in Kidney Institute at Nadiad has given data from 45,885 subjects admitted to 166 kidney centers in India upto January 2010.
"It is noted that CKD, secondary to diabetes, heads the list at 31.2 per cent," Acharya, who is also a co-ordinator for International Kidney Foundation, said.
Critical analysis of incidences reveals Southern regions heading the list at 33.9 per cent followed by East with 33.7 per cent, North (30.5 per cent) and West (27.8 per cent, she said.
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"We as a country simply cannot afford to treat all cases of ESKD with failure which needs costly therapies, with dialysis and transplantation, if all such subjects have to receive optimal treatment," Member of Indian Kidney Foundation, Acharya, said.
Moreover reduced Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR), an indicator of overall kidney function and presence of albumin (albuminuria) in the urine caused by diabetic kidney disease are important risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.
These are the once that lead to Acute Heart Attacks, strokes with consequent death, even before CKD patients progress to ESKD, she explained.
An added problem to overcome is the remarkable lack of awareness among patients about their condition of kidney disease being largely asymptomatic in earlier stages.
To create awareness, Nephrologists here are holding various awareness programme throughout India tomorrow on World Kidney Day.
It is important for the medical profession to do joint efforts to explain to the public treatment and objectives so as to educate the masses about epidemic of CKD accruing in near future, the experts said.