Medical experts have drawn the attention of the public to the escalating incidence of kidney disease, particularly among pregnant Nigerian women.
The Nigeria Association of Nephrology warns of a looming epidemic of kidney diseases in the country and has urged the Federal Government to prioritise treatment of kidney disorders.
Speaking on this year’s World Kidney Day, themed: “Kidney and Women’s Health” they narrated how pregnancy puts women in situations that impinge negatively on their health, noting that kidney disease is one of such disorders.
The kidneys excrete water and other waste products from the body; regulate the internal environment but once they start failing to carry out these functions, symptoms of ailments appear.
A damaged kidney can cause wastes to build up in the body and blood, and urine tests is the only way to know confirm kidney disease. Statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), show that kidney disease in medical circles means that the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood normally.
In Nigeria alone, nephrologists say each year, 17,000 new cases of kidney failures are diagnosed even as around 38 million persons are suffering from various degrees of kidney disease.
Findings by Good Health Weekly show that although kidney disease is preventable and treatable, it is one of the most expensive disorders to treat and manage. Worse still, with N18,000 as minimum wage, the total lifetime cost of handling kidney disease in Nigeria is huge. For instance, a kidney transplant goes for about N10 million.
Unfortunately, not many patients can afford it. Dialysis costs between N30,000 – N40,000 per session, while most patients spend N90,000 – N150,000 a week.
According to Consultant Nephrologist and Head of Clinical Services, Healing Stripes Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Adedamola Akinsiku, hypertension and diabetes either before or during pregnancy can lead to kidney disease if the conditions are not properly managed.
Akinsiku explained that some women are genetically hypertensive while others become hypertensive as a result of their lifestyle, “but when they get pregnant which is additional load on the kidneys, can result in kidney diseases if not properly managed. “During pregnancy some women, due to pressure and stress, develop gestational hypertension.
The good thing about this is that after the baby is born, the blood pressure returns to normal.”
In his view, Akinsiku said sometimes when a woman has an abortion, or loses a pregnancy, if not properly cared for, could develop acute kidney disease.
“Women can bleed because of placenta problem, it is not the fault of the women, the placenta chooses where it wishes to stay.
“But with qualified personnel, some women take about three to four pints of blood before the placenta is separated. Imagine a situation where pregnant women consult Traditional Birth Attendants, TBAs who do not understand why the placenta should be separated before the baby comes out, it may result in massive blood loss because TBAs cannot carry out blood transfusion which is one of the reasons for high infant mortality.
“If such women are not properly transfused in a standard hospital where blood transfusion can be done, this can cause the kidneys to shut down. If not properly managed, the affected women could end up with chronic kidney disease, requiring dialysis or transplant.”
A Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist, and Vice President, Nigerian Association of Nephrologists, Dr Adaeze Asinobi, said increasing cases of kidney disease in Nigeria had reached epidemic level.
Speaking during a function in Ibadan, Asinobi who stated that about 15 per cent of Nigerians have some form of kidney disease, lamented that many cases are due to undiagnosed and untreated cases of hypertension and diabetes.
Also speaking, a Consultant Nephrologist, Dr. Adewunmi Adebowale, urged women to know their medical history before they get pregnant. “If you are going into pregnancy and you already know that you are hypertensive the doctor will know what to do so that your kidney can be safe.
Doctor-in-Charge, Healing Stripe Hospital, Dr. Ezinne Onyemere who also spoke during a free screening, dialysis and health awareness talk organised by the hospital, called for early detection when symptoms have not started manifesting such as uncontrolled blood pressure, leg swelling, facial swelling, forming urine, blood in urine, among others.
The experts who say they are seeing more cases of kidney disease in pregnant women, have urged women seeking to get pregnant to know their medical history and recognise specific medical indicators that can lead to malfunctioning or total breakdown of their kidneys.
