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World Kidney Day March 8 2018

What is World Kidney Day?

World Kidney Day is an annual global awareness campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of our kidneys to our overall health and at reducing the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its associated problems worldwide.

In Short: Kidneys…

  • They get rid of waste products carried in the blood. …
  • They balance the volume of fluid in the body. …
  • They can change blood pressure. …
  • They help in making red blood cells. …
  • They produce active vitamin D.

2018 World Kidney Day Theme

World Kidney Day was first celebrated in 2006 and has gained momentum over the years.

Each year, the campaign highlights a theme. This year the theme is “Women & Kidney Disease”.

Women and chronic Kidney disease (CKD)

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health problem with adverse outcomes of kidney failure and premature death. CKD affects approximately 195 million women worldwide and it is currently the 8th leading cause of death in women, with close to 600,000 deaths each year.

According to some studies, CKD is more likely to develop in women compared with men, with an average 14% prevalence in women and 12% in men. However, the number of women on dialysis is lower than the number of men.

Three major reasons:

  1. CKD progression is slower in women compared to men
  2. psycho-socioeconomic barriers such as lower disease awareness lead to late or no start of dialysis among women
  3. uneven access to care is a major issue in countries with no universal access to healthcare

Kidney transplantation is also unequally spread, mostly due to social, cultural and psychological aspects: even in some countries that provide kidney transplantation and equitable treatment for men and women, women tend more often to donate kidneys and are less likely to receive them.

Lupus Nephropathy & Kidney Infection

Some kidney diseases, such as lupus nephropathy or kidney infection (acute or chronic pyelonephritis) typically affect women. Lupus nephritis is a kidney disease caused by an autoimmune disease, which is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks its own cells and organs.
Pyelonephritis is a potentially severe infection that involves one or both kidneys. Kidney infections (as most urinary tract infections) are more common in women and the risk increases in pregnancy. To ensure good results, as most renal diseases, diagnosis and treatment should be acted on ASAP… Please read on for more on World Kidney Day Women and Kidney Disease

Global Facts: About Kidney Disease

From The National Kidney Foundation with facts from around the world and was originally published in March, 2015. Each item is noted with a reference number and the resources are found after the article.
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  • 10% of the population worldwide is affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD), and millions die each year because they do not have access to affordable treatment.(1)
  • According to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease study, chronic kidney disease was ranked 27th in the list of causes of total number of deaths worldwide in 1990, but rose to 18th in 2010. This degree of movement up the list was second only to that for HIV and AIDS.(2)
  • Over 2 million people worldwide currently receive treatment with dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive, yet this number may only represent 10% of people who actually need treatment to live. (3)
  • Of the 2 million people who receive treatment for kidney failure, the majority are treated in only five countries – the United States, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and Italy. These five countries represent only 12% of the world population. Only 20% are treated in about 100 developing countries that make up over 50% of the world population. (3)
  • More than 80% of all patients who receive treatment for kidney failure are in affluent countries with universal access to health care and large elderly populations. (2)
  • ŸIt is estimated that the number of cases of kidney failure will increase disproportionately in developing countries, such as China and India, where the number of elderly people are increasing. (2)
  • In middle-income countries, treatment with dialysis or kidney transplantation creates a huge financial burden for most of the people who need it. In another 112 countries, many people cannot afford treatment at all, resulting in the death of over 1 million people annually from untreated kidney failure. (3)
  • In the US, treatment of chronic kidney disease is likely to exceed $48 billion dollars per year. Treatment for kidney failure consumes 6.7% of the total Medicare budget to care for less than 1% of the covered population. (1)
  • In China, the economy will lose US$558 billion over the next decade due to effects on death and disability attributable to heart disease and kidney disease. (1)
  • In Uruguay, the annual cost of dialysis is close to $ US 23 million, representing 30% of the budget of the National Resources Fund for specialized therapies. (1)
  • In England, according to a recent report published by NHS Kidney Care, chronic kidney disease costs more than breast, lung, colon and skin cancer combined. (1)
  • In Australia, treatment for all current and new cases of kidney failure through 2020 will cost an estimated $12 billion. (1)
  • In people aged 65 through 74 worldwide, it is estimated that one in five men, and one in four women, have CKD. (1)
  • Noncommunicable diseases (such as heart disease, diabetes, or kidney disease) have replaced communicable diseases (such as influence, malaria, or AIDs) as the most common causes of premature death worldwide. An estimated 80% of this burden occurs in low- or middle-income countries, and 25% is in people younger than 60 years. (3)
  • Chronic kidney disease is a worldwide health crisis. For example, in the year 2005, there were approximately 58 million deaths worldwide, with 35 million attributed to chronic disease, according to the World Health Organization. (4)
  • Chronic kidney disease can be treated. With early diagnosis and treatment, it’s possible to slow or stop the progression of kidney disease.

    • References:

    1] World Kidney Day: Chronic Kidney Disease. 2015; <a href=”http://www.worldkidneyday.org/faqs/chronic-kidney-disease/” rel=nofollow”>World Kidney Day
    2] Jha V, Garcia-Garcia G, Iseki K, et al. Chronic kidney disease: global dimension and perspectives. Lancet. Jul 20 2013;382(9888):260-272.
    3] Couser WG, Remuzzi G, Mendis S, Tonelli M. The contribution of chronic kidney disease to the global burden of major noncommunicable diseases. Kidney Int. Dec 2011;80(12):1258-1270.
    4] Levey AS, Atkins R, Coresh J, et al. Chronic kidney disease as a global public health problem: approaches and initiatives – a position statement from Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes. Kidney Int. Aug 2007;72(3):247-259.

    Kidneys: Facts

    Did you know you don’t need both kidneys to live? Here are 20 interesting facts about your kidneys from the Facts Site:

    1. Kidneys love their blood flow. They reabsorb and redistribute 99% of the blood volume throughout the body, leaving the 1% of the filtered blood to become urine.
    2. Because they love the flow of blood, kidneys have a higher blood flow compared to the brain and liver.
    3. About 25% of all blood from the heart goes into the kidneys.
    4. A baby’s kidney is huge compared to its body weight. Even though it weighs less than an ounce (28 grams), an average baby weighs 7.5 pounds, or 120 ounces (3.4 kilograms).
    5. An adult’s kidney weighs about 5 ounces (142 grams) and is the size of a fist.
    6. Make sure you hydrate: the most common cause of kidney stones is not drinking enough liquids, especially water. Drink up! Your kidneys will thank you later.
    7. The largest kidney stone ever recorded was the size of a coconut. It weighed a whopping 2.5 pounds (1.1 kilograms).
    8. The right kidney is usually smaller and placed lower in the body than the left kidney. The right kidney sits under the liver, the body’s largest internal organ, which explains why it’s smaller and placed lower in the body.
    9. You don’t need both kidneys. One-half of a kidney can do the work of two, and 75% of one kidney can sustain life comfortably.
    10. If a child is born without a kidney, the other one will grow and weigh the same as two kidneys put together.
    11. Our filtration system should thank these tiny filtering units called nephrons. They remove harmful toxins and excess fluids from the blood to keep you alive.
    12. There are about 1.15 million nephrons in your body. Stretched out from end to end, they are about 5 miles (8 kilometers) long.
    13. You can hold anywhere between 50 and 500 milliliters (1.7-17 ounces) of urine in your bladder.
    14. What’s cooler is that your body waits until your bladder is half-full before you go to the bathroom. Once it reaches the halfway point, your body sends signals to your brain telling you that it’s time to expel the yellow stuff from your system.
    15. Kidneys also activate vitamin D in your body – but only as a last resort. If your skin cells can’t receive vitamin D from the Sun, then your liver takes over. And if your liver can’t produce vitamin D, your kidneys get the job done.
    16. You pee between one and two liters of urine every day.
    17. Your kidneys update your blood very regularly. All the blood in your body goes through your kidneys and is filtered every 30 minutes, which is about 50 times every day.
    18. Kidneys also pump around 400 gallons of blood every day.
    19. The first human kidney transplant happened in Ukraine in 1933 by Yuri Voronoy. Sadly, it failed.
    20. The first successful kidney transplant was done by Joseph E. Smith and his team in Boston in 1954.

    Leaky Links to Help You…!

    And you thought the “Golden Rule” was how you treat others…Here is 8 Golden Rules on World Kidney Day with 8 ways to keep your kidneys healthy.

    Guess what? Apparently, it can whiten your teeth. Ewww!
    Facts About Urine health
    and more interesting facts about pee from our friends at Good Housekeeping-Who would have thought those “Nice People” would come up with this Pee list!

    Here’s a question we are all dying to have an answer to, How long can you go without peeing Really? from Business Insider. Make sense this article is posted in a business mag, too, huh!

    Learn more about the main structures of the kidneys and how they function from MedLine:
    Kidney Maps and Diagrams to bring your kidneys into better focus.

    Lily&Q’s say…Kidneys are the seemingly “last resort” organ in our bodies. Not only are they constantly busy being a “master filter” for our blood, but they also help regulate our blood pressure and release vitamin D if our skin can’t absorb enough for our daily needs.
    Kidneys are like no other organ in our bodies, but usually we don’t know something is wrong with them until it’s way wrong, unfortunately.
    Since they are an organ that “keeps giving” until they are about to totally shut down interventions don’t always give us the best outcomes. Waiting for 3 or more years for a suitable kidney donor match has helped stimulate living donor donations.
    HIV meds are super hard on the liver and kidneys. Medicines are becoming kinder and gentler to our organs while still giving us suppression of HIV, but in some cases the damage is done.
    Now we have to learn to manage the damage, and try and protect them from future assult.
    The most recent loss in my HIV community was someone dying of renal failure. What a painful and crappy way to die. Actually “heart failure” was listed as the 1st cause of his death after HIV/AIDS of course.
    Hey it’s a fact that some of us were doing more than just having unprotected sex when we got HIV like…I don’t know…Drinking or drugging, perhaps, and that sure hasn’t helped!
    Chronic disease conveniently coincides with Chronic Kidney Disease, too…Double Damn!
    Know your HIV status, Protect your Kidneys, and Help reduce the stigma of Addiction Treatment and STI testing. Do it TODAY!