Kidney disease 'often unnoticed by sufferers'

AN ESTIMATED 180,000 people in the Republic have some form of significant kidney disease, and most are unaware of their condition, the chief executive of the Irish Kidney Association said.

Mark Murphy urged people, when attending their family doctor, to ask for a blood test to determine the levels of a protein called creatinine in their systems. If levels are high, the patient is likely to have kidney disease. If a GP was aware of the problem, they could treat the patient to slow progression of the disease and prolong life. Left untreated, a patient is at risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.

Mr Murphy said people with high blood pressure and diabetes would be at high risk of kidney disease and should insist on having their creatinine levels monitored.

His comments yesterday, World Kidney Day, were aimed at raising awareness of the importance of early detection of kidney disease.

Dr George Mellotte, president of the Irish Nephrology Society and renal consultant at Dublin's Tallaght and St James's hospitals, said kidney disease would be the health problem of the 21st century.

"The number of patients with severe kidney disease and, as a consequence, premature cardiovascular disease, is going to increase dramatically in the next 10 to 15 years . . . We need to put into place health prevention strategies immediately."

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times