Kidney health for all: bridging the gap in kidney health education and literacy

The high burden of kidney disease, global disparities in kidney care, and the poor outcomes of kidney failure place a growing burden on affected individuals and their families, caregivers, and the community at large. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals and organizations have, or equitably enable individuals to have, the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to make informed health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. Rather than viewing health literacy as a patient deficit, improving health literacy lies primarily with health care providers communicating and educating effectively in codesigned partnership with those with kidney disease. For kidney policy makers, health literacy is a prerequisite for organizations to transition to a culture that places the person at the center of health care. The growing capability of and access to technology provides new opportunities to enhance education and awareness of kidney disease for all stakeholders. Advances in telecommunication, including social media platforms, can be leveraged to enhance persons' and providers' education. The World Kidney Day declares 2022 as the year of "Kidney Health for All" to promote global teamwork in advancing strategies in bridging the gap in kidney health education and literacy. Kidney organizations should work toward shifting the patient-deficit health literacy narrative to that of being the responsibility of health care providers and health policy makers. By engaging in and supporting kidney health-centered policy making, community health planning, and health literacy approaches for all, the kidney communities strive to prevent kidney diseases and enable living well with kidney disease.

Kidney health for everyone everywhere - from prevention to detection and equitable access to care

The global burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rapidly increasing with a projection of becoming the 5th most common cause of years of life lost globally by 2040. CKD is a major cause of catastrophic health expenditure. The costs of dialysis and transplantation consume up to 3% of the annual healthcare budget in high-income countries. However, the onset and progression of CKD is often preventable. In 2020, the World Kidney Day campaign highlights the importance of preventive interventions - be it primary, secondary, or tertiary. This article focuses on outlining and analyzing measures that can be implemented in every country to promote and advance CKD prevention. Primary prevention of kidney disease should focus on the modification of risk factors and addressing structural abnormalities of the kidney and urinary tracts, as well as exposure to environmental risk factors and nephrotoxins. In persons with pre-existing kidney disease, secondary prevention, including blood pressure optimization and glycemic control, should be the main goal of education and clinical interventions. In patients with advanced CKD, management of co-morbidities such as uremia and cardiovascular disease is a highly recommended preventative intervention to avoid or delay dialysis or kidney transplantation. Political efforts are needed to proliferate the preventive approach. While national policies and strategies for non-communicable diseases might be present in a country, specific policies directed toward education and awareness about CKD screening, management, and treatment are often lacking. Hence, there is an urgent need to increase the awareness of preventive measures throughout populations, professionals, and policy makers.

Reference Intervals for Serum Cystatin C and Creatinine of an Indigenous Adult Nigerian Population

Background and Aim: Estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is important for the evaluation of patients with kidney disease. Some studies suggest that GFR estimated from serum cystatin C (Cys C) is more accurate than that from serum creatinine (SCr). For Cys C to be used for this purpose; normal values need to be determined for various populations. This study determined the serum Cys C levels and reference intervals (RIs) of a Nigerian population.Materials and Methods: Three hundred and four healthy adult subjects were analysed. Serum Cys C and SCr were determined by particle enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay and modified Jaffe kinetic method respectively. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17.0 (SPSS for Windows Inc.; Chicago; IL; USA). Estimation of RIs was done as per the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry guidelines.Results: The RIs for Cys C were 0.65-1.12 mg/L (median 0.86) for males; 0.62-1.12 mg/L (median 0.85) for females and 0.64-1.12 mg/L (median 0.86) for all the subjects. The RIs for SCr were 73-110 ?mol/L (median 89) for males; 65-102 ?mol/L (median 82) for females and 66-106 ?mol/L (median 86) for all the subjects. There was no significant gender difference in the RIs for serum Cys C; (P 0.05). The SCr levels and RI were significantly lower in females than in males (P 0.001).Conclusion: This study has determined the serum Cys C levels and RI of an indigenous healthy adult black population in Nigeria

Left Ventricular Diastolic Function in a Predialysis Patient Population

BACKGROUND: Diastolic dysfunction is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD) accounting for 40-66of cardiovascular complications. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of and factors associated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in adult Nigerians with CKD at presentation and to compare findings with those of hypertensive patients with normal renal function. METHODS: Eighty-six consecutive patients with CKD were studied; comprising 43 hypertensives and 43 age- and sexmatched healthy subjects as controls. Clinical; laboratory; and echocardiographic variables were measured. RESULTS: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction was present in 62.8of CKD patients; 79.1of hypertensive patients and 25.6of normal controls (p 0.001. There was a positive correlation between left ventricular diastolic function (LVDF) and systolic blood pressure (SBP); diastolic blood pressure (DBP); mean arterial pressure (MAP); severity of SBP; severity of DBP in CKD patients but not in hypertensive patients. There was a negative correlation between LVDF and age in CKD patients and hypertensive patients. Linear multiple regression analysis showed age as the only predictor of LVDD. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of diastolic dysfunction in CKD patients at first presentation to a nephrologist in Nigeria