Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious health problem that affects about 11 percent of the Mexican population, according to the Head of the Adult Nephrology Service of the Antiguo Hospital Civil de Guadalajara “Fray Antonio Alcalde”, Dr. Jonathan Samuel Chávez Íñiguez. He also said that Mexico has been the world leader in the number of people who need dialysis, a treatment that replaces the function of the kidneys when they fail.
CKD is a condition that causes the gradual loss of kidney function over time. The kidneys are responsible for filtering the blood and removing waste and excess fluid from the body. When the kidneys are damaged, they cannot perform these tasks properly, leading to the accumulation of toxins and fluid in the body. This can cause various complications, such as high blood pressure, anemia, bone disease, cardiovascular disease, and increased risk of infections.
The main cause of CKD in adults is diabetes, which affects about 40 percent of people with this disease. Other risk factors include high blood pressure, obesity, family history, age, and smoking. In children, the most common cause is congenital malformations of the urinary tract, which affect the development and function of the kidneys.
Dr. Chávez Íñiguez lamented that Mexico does not have a public policy that screens, monitors, treats, and follows up on patients with CKD, which is one of the most expensive diseases to treat. He said that if CKD is detected early, there are new treatments that can slow down the progression of the disease and improve the prognosis. However, many patients do not have symptoms until the advanced stages of the disease, when the kidneys are working below 20 percent of their capacity. By then, the only options are dialysis or kidney transplantation, which are limited by the availability of resources and donors.
In Jalisco, especially, CKD is an endemic disease, with one of the highest incidences in the world of people who need dialysis, close to 570 thousand patients per million inhabitants. Dr. Chávez Íñiguez said that this is due to multiple factors, such as environmental, genetic, and dietary factors. He mentioned that some regions, such as Poncitlán and Chapala, have a higher prevalence of CKD and kidney stones, which could be related to the quality of water, the consumption of agrochemicals, and the lack of access to health services.
To raise awareness and prevent CKD, the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara will conduct a campaign of early detection of CKD from March 13 to 17, from 9:00 to 11:30 am, in its esplanade. The campaign will offer free and open to the public urine tests, detection of risk factors, diagnosis, and nutritional counseling. The campaign is part of the commemoration of the World Kidney Day, which is celebrated every second Thursday of March.
The Hospital Civil de Guadalajara is a public institution that provides health care to the population of Jalisco and neighboring states. It has two units: the Antiguo Hospital Civil de Guadalajara “Fray Antonio Alcalde” and the Nuevo Hospital Civil de Guadalajara “Dr. Juan I. Menchaca”. It also has teaching and research functions, as well as social responsibility and transparency programs.
Source: Hospital Civil de Guadalajara
