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CDC Notes Rise in Kidney Hospitalizations

Staff writer for safetyissues.com

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Human Kidneys

The number of U.S. hospitalizations attributed to kidney disease has increased fourfold between 1980 and 2005, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

There were only 416,000 hospitalizations in 1980 and this rose to 1.6 million in 2005.

Hospitalizations are different from patients, because hospitalizations may be required more than once for some patients with kidney disease. In other cases, too, the primary cause for hospitalization was not kidney disease, but the medical discharge record indicated the presence of kidney disease, which counted in the CDC summary.

The increase was greatest among seniors, those aged 65 and older. Incidence of acute renal failure also increased significantly, and was a primary factor in the upsurge of hospitalizations. Males were 30-40 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for kidney disease.

Acute renal failure was responsible for three-fifths (60 percent) of hospitalizations in 2005, but only 7 percent in 1980. CDC advanced two possible reasons for this increase in hospitalizations:

• The population is aging. With age, there are more cases of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. These two conditions usually increase the likelihood of kidney diseases.

• Different ways of diagnosing, defining and recording of chronic kidney diseases, including acute renal failure.

One difficulty with kidney disease is that symptoms are not usually felt until the damage has become severe. Taking care of the kidneys benefits your whole body in more ways than just avoiding kidney disease. Here are some things that can be done.

Control blood sugar levels. Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. To help your blood sugar levels down, avoid an excess of carbohydrates, sugary foods, candies and desserts. Among other things, persistently high blood sugar levels appear to harm the kidney cells that filter dietary protein in the blood. When the kidney’s protein filtering system fails, the unfiltered protein goes into the urine.

Don’t blame protein. For years, when traces of protein were found in urine, low-protein diets were recommended. Excess protein is not necessarily the culprit, and normal kidneys have no problem with filtering protein. The real culprit is food that raises blood sugar to harmful levels, damaging the kidneys.

Have regular check-ups. Blood pressure and urine should be checked annually. High blood pressure can lead to kidney damage, as it upsets the delicate balance of kidney hormones that help regulate flow rate and pressure of blood. When one hormone is not in balance, the others will follow, and serious kidney damage results. On the other hand, diseased kidneys go haywire and start pushing blood pressure up.

Urine analysis will tell your doctor whether your kidneys are properly filtering protein. The presence of excess amounts of protein will give indication of kidney diseases.

For males, an enlarged prostate can obstruct urine flow, leading to kidney disease. The prostate is closely linked to the urethra and any increase in size will pose an obstruction. Removing that obstruction will help you ensure normal kidney functioning.