Chronic kidney problems among the youth show upward trend

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) among the young is on the rise, say doctors in public and private hospitals, attributing it to a myriad of causes.

Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences has been seeing an increase in the number of people availing treatment for CKD in recent years, after the government ramped up dialysis services. Doctors here say patients under 40, and increasingly those under 30, are being diagnosed with chronic kidney problems.

Risk factors

“In the young it is a combination of factors and often the cause is not understood. Genetics, environment and lifestyle are all suspects,” said Dr. D. Sree Bhushan Raju, head of Nephrology department at the hospital.

Diabetes and hypertension are common risk factors for CKD, but doctors seeing young patients say these risk factors are often absent at the time of diagnosis.

In the case of patients from areas known to be affected by fluorosis, doctors say despite improved water facilities, renal failure is being seen in the young. Pradeep Deshpande, a professor of medicine at Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, recently performed a kidney transplant on a 19-year-old girl in Nalgonda.

“Young patients with kidney problems where the cause is not clear have shrunken kidneys and abnormal parameters. We are seeing manifestation of hypertension after diagnosis of kidney problems in such patients,” Prof. Deshpande said while calling for more research to understand observed links between the environment and CKD.

Summer surge

Apart from chronic kidney problems, Dr. Deshpande said acute problems in the young during summer months are a concern.

He added that severe dehydration can injure the kidney. While in most cases, recovery from acute kidney injury takes place, some people develop chronic kidney problems.