Commentary on the burden of chronic kidney disease

Abstract

The kidneys are two bean shaped organs situated in the abdomen that is responsible for the excretion of metabolic waste, production of hormones, and metabolism and excretion of drugs and toxins amongst others. Chronic renal failure is said to occur when there is
an irreversible deterioration of kidney function, which develops over a period of years.  This ultimately leads to end-stage renal failure at  which  stage kidney  function  must be  replaced artificially  by either  renal dialysis or renal  transplantation in order to avert death.

The incidence and prevalence of kidney failure has been on the increase in recent times. The prevalence increased from 10% in 1988-1994 to 13.1% in 1999-2004. Kidney failure is also the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. In Nigeria, the data from various centres indicate an increasing incidence of kidney diseases in the population. The increase in kidney failure is partly explained by the rising incidence and prevalence of Diabetes and hypertension, the two leading causes of kidney failure. Other causes of kidney failure include glomerular disease, analgesic nephropathy, obstructive uropathy, chronic pyelonephritis, sickle cell disease amongst others.