Kidney Disease Rate Escalates

DANBURY — Kidney disease is on the rise in the United States and the number of cases is expected to double by the year 2010.

“We’re going to be in serious, serious trouble,” said Howard Garfinkel, MD, chief of the section of nephrology and hypertension in the Department of Medicine at Danbury Hospital, who called the disease a public health menace.

If the number of kidney failure cases rise to more than 660,000 in the next five years, “we won’t be prepared to handle it,” he said. In 1984 there were 100,000 cases of kidney failure; by 2000 the number had grown to 327,407.

Dr Garfinkel spoke recently at a Medical Town Meeting sponsored by Danbury Hospital entitled, “Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease.” He spoke about kidney disease to help raise awareness of the importance of preventing progressive problems and early diagnosis.

The problem is so serious that the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institutes of Health, and the US Department of Health & Human Services launched the National Kidney Disease Education Program.

The number one reason kidney disease occurs, according to Dr Garfinkel, is diabetes, which is responsible for causing more than 50 percent of cases. Other causes are due to toxic substances like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including ibuprofen, naproxen, and prescription drugs such as Celebrex. A family history of kidney disease, and other conditions such as high blood pressure, AIDS, and obesity, can also put one at risk. Surgery, shock, and infection can also damage the kidneys.

Several things can also aggravate kidney problems, he said, including smoking, high cholesterol, high protein intake, and toxins. So it is most important to manage and control blood pressure, diabetes. and cholesterol. And don’t smoke, he said.