CARPHA advocates for policies to detect kidney disease early

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The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is encouraging people in the region to take early steps to know the health of their kidneys as early detection can help reduce their chances of developing kidney disease.

CARPHA’s call comes as the world observes World Kidney Day.

This year’s observances are taking place under the theme, “Are Your Kidneys OK? Detect early, protect kidney health.”

In a statement, CARPHA noted in 2019 kidney diseases were the fifth leading cause of death in the Non-Latin Caribbean region.

The three leading risk factors for kidney disease globally are being overweight/obese, hypertensive and diabetic.

Dr Lisa Indar, Executive Director, CARPHA, stated that kidney diseases is a major concern for the Region and shared some alarming data on the impact of this chronic health challenge.

“When reviewing 2019 data for countries in the region of the Americas, with the highest death rate due to kidney disease, two CARPHA Member States ranked in the top 10 of this list and nine Member States ranked in the top 20,” she said.

“Coupled to the high regional prevalence of the three main risk factors for kidney diseases, that is, overweight/obesity (53.2 per cent), hypertension (23 per cent) and diabetes (11.9 per cent), it signals an urgent need for focused and effective interventions to reduce this burden in the Caribbean”.

CARPHA said detecting kidney disease early is essential for preventing complications and improving quality of life in the Region.

The agency is pushing for policies at the primary care level that ensure routine testing of populations in high-risk groups.

“Tests that can be helpful in early detection include monitoring blood pressure, BMI (as a marker of weight), HbA1c (as a marker of blood glucose control) and other specific blood and urine tests that assess kidney function,” CARPHA said.

The agency has launched a Diabetes Guidelines and the Nutritional Management Toolkit to assist in the fight against diabetes, as well as a Regional Framework for the Reduction of Sodium in Caribbean populations to target the high prevalence of hypertension.