Approximately 850 million people worldwide are estimated to have kidney diseases from various causes.
Chronic kidney disease, or CKD, causes at least 2.4 million deaths per year, and it is the sixth-fastest-growing cause of death in the world.
To raise awareness, chronic kidney disease will be the focus of this year’s World Kidney Day on Thursday, March 14.
Nephrologists and researchers in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will be on hand throughout UAB Hospital and Kirklin Clinic on World Kidney Day to educate the public about the illness, how to treat and manage it, and how to prevent it. They will also have booths set up to promote current research studies on chronic kidney disease and encourage people with the disease to enroll in the studies.
“We want to make people aware that chronic kidney disease exists and that there are risk factors that can cause someone to develop it,” said Clare Lyas, M.D., a nephrologist at UAB. “The primary risk factors are hypertension and diabetes. Our goal is to let people know they should get their high blood pressure and diabetes under control to help mitigate the risk of developing chronic kidney disease.”
There will be two lectures at UAB on the disease. The topics will focus on how we can motivate people to reduce the risk of developing the disease and how people can receive treatment if they have advanced chronic kidney disease. The lectures will take place from 12-1 p.m. Thursday, March 14, in the Tinsley Harrison Conference Room.