March is Kidney Health month in Canada and around the world.
In BC one in 10 people will be affected by kidney disease during their lifetime.
This number will increase over the coming years as the population ages and more people immigrate to Canada from areas such as Southeast Asia and Africa where the population is more prone to developing kidney disease.
- Kidney disease is a silent disease. A person can lose 80 per cent of their kidney function before any physical symptoms appear. Risk factors for developing kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, and some heart conditions. Testing of a kidney's function is done through a simple blood test called an eGFR test.
- There is currently no cure for kidney disease. Treatments include changes in diet, exercise, taking medication, and in advanced cases, dialysis and ulitmately kidney transplant.
- In BC kidney patients make up more than 70 per cent of people awaiting any form of transplant. As of December 2023, there are almost 400 people on a kidney transplant wait list.
For more information visit www.kidney.ca/risk.
