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Kidney Diseases
An advancing of chronic kidney disease may be linked to an increase in cognitive impairment, such as problems with attention, processing speed and executive function, according to a study. The findings, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, underscores that severity of chronic kidney disease could be a risk factor for cognitive decline. Chronic kidney disease is a long-term, progressive loss of kidney function -- where kidneys are not able to purify blood -- often lasting more than three months. Researchers, including those from Tulane University in the US, examined over 5,600 participants aged 21-79, analysing blood and urine samples for kidney function, and a cognitive function assessment for brain function over six years. "In this cohort study of 5,607 participants with CKD (chronic kidney disease), a higher urinary protein to creatinine ratio (in a urine test) was associated with impairments in attention and processing speed as well
India had the second-highest number of people with chronic kidney disease in 2023 at 138 million, following China at 152 million, according to a global study published in The Lancet journal. The condition was the ninth-leading cause of death and claimed nearly 15 lakh lives globally the same year, researchers led by those at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington and other institutes in the US and UK found. The highest prevalence was seen in North Africa and the Middle East at 18 per cent each, nearly 16 per cent in South Asia and over 15 per cent in each of Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Chronic kidney disease is a major contributor to heart disease and accounted for almost 12 per cent of cardiovascular deaths around the world in 2023. It ranked as the seventh leading cause for heart-related mortality, ahead of diabetes and obesity, the team said. Fourteen risk factors for chronic kidney disease were detailed
An analysis of deaths in the wake of tropical cyclones in nine countries has found that the highest increase of 92 per cent was seen in deaths due to kidney diseases, followed by 21 per cent in deaths due to physical injuries. A tropical cyclone is an extreme weather event originating in oceans in the tropics, bringing violent winds, torrential rains and in some cases, destructive coastal flooding. Deaths due to diabetes were seen to increase by 15 per cent, and those due to neuropsychiatric disorders and infectious diseases by 12 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, according to findings published in The British Medical Journal. Researchers led by those at Monash University looked at 14.8 million deaths linked to 217 tropical cyclones during 2000-2019 across 1,356 communities in nine countries including Australia, Brazil, the Philippines and Thailand. "Mortality risks from various causes consistently increased after tropical cyclones, with peaks occurring within the first two .
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is emerging as one of the country's most pressing public health concerns, a renowned nephrologist said. CKD is fuelled by lifestyle disorders like diabetes and hypertension and compounded by environmental and occupational factors, kidney ailments are no longer confined to the elderly or the urban elite, he said. If left unchecked, kidney disease could soon take on the proportions of an epidemic, the nephrologist said. Talking to PTI, Dr H Sudarshan Ballal shared his experience of witnessing how India's renal healthcare evolved from scarcity to scale but also watched new challenges emerge with unsettling speed. "When I returned to India in 1991 from the US, there were just 800 nephrologists in the entire country. In fact, there were more Indian nephrologists practising in the US than in India. We used to call ourselves one in a million," Ballal recalled. Three decades later, the situation has undoubtedly improved, with thousands of specialists and advan
The Madhya Pradesh government has banned the sale of Coldrif cough syrup following the death of 14 children in Chhindwara due to suspected renal failure, with officials stating the drug samples were found to contain a highly toxic substance. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has also initiated risk-based inspections at the manufacturing units of 19 drugs, including cough syrups and antibiotics, across six states, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. A sample of the syrup, tested by the government drug analyst at the Drug Testing Laboratory in Chennai, was declared "Not of Standard Quality" by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Drug Control, officials said here. The action by the Madhya Pradesh government came in the wake of the deaths of 14 children in Chhindwara district due to suspected kidney failure. Of these, 10 deaths were reported in Parasia subdivision since September 7, local officials said. Yogita (2), a resident of Parasia, died at a Nagpur hospit