​37,000 patients are hospitalized annually in Romania with chronic kidney disease, and a quarter of them are in the late stage. The average age of hospitalized patients with chronic kidney disease is 67 years, more than half of patients (55%) are from 60 to 79 years old.

Chronic kidney disease is currently the 10th leading cause of death worldwide, but is estimated to rise to 5th by 2040. It is closely related to other chronic pathologies, such as diabetes or hypertension.

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease in our country is up to 10%, and only one out of 10 patients is diagnosed with the disease at an early stage.

On the occasion of World Kidney Day, the International Society of Nephrology, the National Society of Family Medicine and the Ministry of Health are launching a national information and education campaign on chronic kidney disease “Cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes are common and can seriously affect the kidneys Get your kidneys evaluated for free at the family doctor!”.

“Chronic kidney disease detected at an early stage benefits from treatment that significantly improves the lives of patients, and we avoid two consequences, two solutions that are more difficult to implement. First of all, the need for dialysis and transplantation is significantly reduced. It is estimated that around 700 million people worldwide have chronic kidney disease. In Romania, the estimated prevalence is up to 10%. Only every tenth person who has this disease is detected in the early stages. The prevention policy that we want to develop must also include this type of pathology,” said Health Minister Alexandru Rafila, quoted by Agerpres, at the conference to launch the information campaign.

“Chronic kidney disease is a progressive disease. It is progressive, and as it progresses, the risk of mortality increases, and early intervention, which can be part of such a detection and prevention program, is an appropriate response to this public health problem. It is about free access to the estimated filtration rate and the ratio of albumin to creatinine in the urine, which can be done very simply in the case of a routine examination and allows to identify and, subsequently, to determine the stage with the help of more in-depth studies of patients who have this pathology. What can be the great advantages of such a program? First of all, reducing the progression of chronic kidney disease to dialysis is a service that is quite difficult to bear. You know very well that this is done three times a week for everyone who has to move. It is also very expensive. Or transplantation,” said the Minister of Health.

In Romania, more than 37,000 patients with chronic kidney disease are hospitalized annually, and of these, approximately 25% are at an advanced stage. The average age of hospitalized patients with chronic kidney disease is 67 years, more than 55% of patients are between 60 and 79 years old.