DHAKA, March 7, 2018 (BSS) – Women are more affected by Chronic Kidney
Disease (CKD) than men due to negligence and social barriers, experts said.
“Some studies revealed that women are more vulnerable to get kidney disease
than men; the disease is more likely to develop among women compared to men”,
Director of the National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology (NIKDU)
Professor Nurul Huda Lenin told BSS today.
Referring to a data of ‘Global Prevalence of CKD – A Systematic Review and
Meta-Analysis’, he said the rate of kidney disease among women is 14 percent
while 12 percent among men, adding the number of women being conducted
dialysis is lower than men.
CKD is a worldwide public health problem with adverse outcomes of kidney
failure and premature death.
Prof Lenin said at least three major reasons are responsible for getting
CKD among women — negligence, social barriers and lack of awareness.
According to Bangladesh Kidney Foundation, over one crore people have been
now suffering from kidney disease in the country. Nearly 1.60 lakh kidney
patients, who are in serious condition, have to undergo regular dialysis
every week.
About 195 million women are affected by CKD in the world and it is
currently the 8th leading cause of death among women with around 600,000
people dies of this disease each year.
The number of diabetes and high blood pressure patients are rising in the
country for various reasons, including bad food habit and uncontrolled
lifestyle, said Professor Harun Ur Rashid, President of Bangladesh Kidney
Foundation, adding many of them get kidney disease at some stage.
The symptoms of Kidney diseases might not be noticeable until the last
stage, it is important to know the risk factors and conduct medical test
regularly, he suggested.
The country, however, would celebrate the World Kidney Day and the
International Women’s Day 2018 tomorrow as these two special Days are going
to be observed on the same day, offering the opportunity to reflect on
women’s health specifically their kidney health.
The World Kidney Day-2018 with the theme of ‘Kidneys and Women’s Health:
Include, Value, Empower’ promotes affordable and equitable access to health
education, healthcare and prevention of kidney diseases for all women and
girls in the world.