MENTION “kidney disease” and the first image that springs to mind is that of listless patients, tucked away in quiet rooms with the curtains drawn and tubed into dialysis machines.

Yet these late-stage patients represent the minority of Malaysians living with damaged kidneys. The majority of them, on the other hand, can be seen all around you, walking, talking, laughing and working; living seemingly healthy and productive lives, while the two fist-sized organs that straddle each of their spines below the ribs slowly close shop.

President of the Malaysian Society of Nephrology, Dr Philip N. Jeremiah … The message to the public at large is Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is common, harmful and treatable

The majority in this case is about 2.7 million Malaysians, for according to the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (NKF), as many as one in 10 of us, and one in 10 adults globally, are living with some form or level of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

Prevent, prevent, detect, prevent

“The message to the public at large is CKD is common, harmful and treatable,” says Dr Philip.

Early detection is a simple matter of regular screening. Just ask your usual healthcare provider (you don’t have to ask a specialist) for an annual kidney health check if you fall within a high-risk target group.

More worryingly, as many as nine out of 10 of these adults living with kidney damage remain unidentified and therefore go untreated. That means around 2.4 million Malaysians are not being treated for CKD. And the numbers are constantly rising.

The high cost of CKD

“In Malaysia, as all over the world, there is a rising incidence of CKD and kidney failure. CKD is now a world health problem. We talk about it as an epidemic, even a pandemic,” says Dr Philip.

“It is unfortunately a silent disease and often goes unnoticed until it is too late, resulting in lost opportunities for prevention or slowing the progress to end-stage kidney failure,” says Dr Jeremiah.

The cost of these lost opportunities is high for all concerned.

For patients, untreated CKD can lead to kidney failure and a host of associated complications with profound consequences, like increasing the likelihood of fatal heart attacks and strokes 10-fold, which impact quality of life and cut life expectancy drastically short (Refer to accompanying table, Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease).

Source: The Star