KIDNEY DISEASE - RESOURCE CENTRE

How do I know if I have kidney disease?

The three important functions of the healthy kidneys are to remove waste from our body, regulation of electrolytes and water balance, and production of various hormones for blood production, healthy bones and blood pressure control.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a term the doctors use to categorise whatever disease process that can potentially damage the kidneys. When the kidneys are damaged progressively over a period of time, they are unable to perform the various vital functions optimally; this condition is termed chronic kidney failure. Most diseases attack both kidneys simultaneously and hence when kidney failure is confirmed via blood testing, it usually means both kidneys are affected.

How common is it?

In a report published recently, 26 million Americans adults (1 in 9) have CKD. More than 367,000 patients are currently dependent on dialysis for survival. Every two hours, one person waiting for a kidney transplant dies. For every patient who is on dialysis, there are 200 more patients with moderate stage of CKD and more than 5000 with early stages of CKD. Many more millions of Americans are at increased risk of developing CKD, but most do not even know it.

In the 6th Report of the Singapore Renal Registry 2005/2006, 990 and 1111 new patients were diagnosed to have advanced kidney failure requiring initiation of dialysis support in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Similar to the United States, there are probably thousands of Singaporeans who are suffering from CKD or are at risk of developing CKD in the future.

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Expert Author:

Dr Roger Tan, Consultant Nephrologist