www.safetyissues.com: CDC Notes Rise in Kidney Hospitalizations

CDC Notes Rise in Kidney Hospitalizations
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Staff writer for safetyissues.com on 03/31/08 01:00:00
 
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.