Kidney disease tending toward
 global pandemic

BY JOAQUIN ORAMAS

THE goal of achieving longevity with quality of life and even reaching the age of 120 or more is not a utopia, but it is undeniable that in order to achieve that, people must travel a road strewn with large obstacles. This is understood and anticipated by those promoting that goal through the 120 Years Club.

Granma International discussed this issue with Professor and Doctor of Science Raúl Herrera Valdés, director of the Cuban Nephrology Institute, who explains that chronic kidney disease is showing a tendency toward becoming a pandemic in the world.

"Research that we have undertaken in our covering the entire population, through the family doctor system, show that 3,500 to 4,000 people out of every million are already suffering from chronic renal insufficiency. This is data that coincides with research findings in other countries," he reports.

Dr. Herrera clarifies that he is not referring to the stage of the disease when dialysis is required, but to different evolutions of kidney failure.

Does that mean that in order to aspire to longevity, kidney problems must be prioritized?

"Exactly, yes. But I think that we may go beyond that, given that chronic renal insufficiency is not an isolated condition; rather, it is part of a set of non-transmittable chronic diseases that primarily affect older adults."

He mentions cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and kidney failure, all of which are provoked by common factors. Among those he emphasizes nutritional elements, sedentariness, the habit of smoking, and others.

All of these elements produce lipid (blood fat) disorders and facilitate damage to blood vessels, arteries, arterioles, and capillaries; or rather, the so-called arteriosclerotic process, common in the aforementioned diseases. They are common phenomena with shared risk factors, he affirms.

The frequency of chronic renal insufficiency is directly proportionate to age, he adds. Thus, as biological age advances, the number of cases grows, a fact that becomes more evident after the age of 60, a stage where the number of those affected triples.

The second origin is a strongly determining factor because the first two causes of chronic kidney failure are diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension. He adds that both of those diseases are also presenting themselves as conditions with a tendency toward pandemic growth.

Dr. Herrera cites the unprecedented increase of diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension on a world scale, both of them associated with the phenomenon of obesity and overweight.

He mentions the increase of cardiovascular diseases as the other determining factor in the greater frequency of chronic kidney failure, given that it is the main cause of death in the majority of developed and developing countries.

To what extent do those conditions affect reaching the age of 120?

Chronic renal insufficiency occurs in the majority of cases as a secondary condition to another underlying condition, the doctor responds. The latter shares many risk factors with kidney disease. That is so much so the case that currently, for example, there are references to cardio-kidney disease, because the risk factors and predispositions are the same for both. The physio-pathological mechanisms that lead to cardiovascular disease are very similar to those that determine kidney disease, he adds. These diseases may be anticipated and prevented, he emphasizes, and to do so, a strategy must be undertaken that begins with educating a healthy population from birth, so that healthy patterns and lifestyles may be encouraged.

Dr. Herrera affirms that the determining factors for the pandemic of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and chronic kidney disease are associated with obesity, which in turn is linked to sedentariness, poor nutritional habits, exaggerated intake of calories in the form of carbohydrates, fats, etc. a lack of physical exercise and the habit of smoking. And it is demonstrated that smoking accelerates kidney damage, he adds.

"There is no doubt that human beings have a genetic potential for life that is far superior to what is currently achieved. Their evolutionary history demonstrates that," Dr. Herrera commented.

Information: redac2@granmai.cip.cu