Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is now a global epidemic

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is now a global epidemic that affects more than 10 percent of the world population, according to the authors of the first article of the series dedicated journal The Lancet this pathology, written by Professor Kai-Uwe Eckardt, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, and colleagues.

CKD is defined by a reduction in glomerular filtration rate (GFR, the rate at which the kidneys filter the blood) and increased excretion of protein in the urine of a person. These experts raise concerns that a growing body of evidence suggests that not only the kidneys are the target organs of many diseases, but also may aggravate or initiate systemic surprisingly pathophysiological processes through their effects on complex functions and systems of the body .

As with many other chronic diseases, the prevalence of CKD increases with age, so it is more than 20 percent in people aged 60 years and 35 percent in those over 70 years. However, 1 in 25 young adults aged 20 to 39 years also have this condition; the blacks have twice the odds of CKD than whites, in addition to patients with diabetes or a history of cardiovascular disease had the highest prevalence of CKD, reaching 50 percent or more.

The causes of CKD are complex and include common diseases, such as hypertension, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, as well as several less common diseases affecting primarily the kidney. Chronic kidney disease also predisposes to acute renal injury and vice versa. "Even mild forms of renal disease is associated with several adverse effects on body function and increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity," the authors say.

"Genetic causes of specific forms of kidney disease and susceptibility to the development of kidney disease in the context of other disorders are also being increasingly recognized," say the researchers, who are committed to professional collaboration between general and specialized health to address "fully" the problem of the prevention of acute and chronic renal failure and improve outcomes.