'Women more affected by kidney diseases'
Women are more affected by Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) than men due to negligence and social barriers, experts said.
`Some studies revealed that women are more vulnerable to kidney disease than men; the disease is more likely to develop among women compared to men', Director of the National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology (NIKDU) professor Nurul Huda Lenin told BSS on Wednesday.
Referring to a data of `Global Prevalence of CKD - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis', he said the rate of kidney disease among women is 14 per cent while 12 per cent among men, adding the number of women being conducted dialysis is lower than men.
CKD is a worldwide public health problem with adverse outcomes of kidney failure and premature death.
Professor Lenin said at least three major reasons are responsible for getting CKD among women --- negligence, social barriers and lack of awareness.
According to Bangladesh Kidney Foundation, over 10 million people have been now suffering from kidney disease in the country. Nearly 160,000 kidney patients, who are in serious condition, have to undergo regular dialysis every week.
About 195 million women are affected by CKD in the world and it is currently the 8th leading cause of death among women with around 600,000 people dies of this disease each year.
The number of diabetes and high blood pressure patients are rising in the country for various reasons, including bad food habit and uncontrolled lifestyle, said professor Harun Ur Rashid, president of Bangladesh Kidney Foundation, adding many of them get kidney disease at some stage.
The symptoms of kidney diseases might not be noticeable until the last stage, it is important to know the risk factors and conduct medical test regularly, he suggested.
The country, however, would celebrate the World Kidney Day and the International Women's Day 2018 tomorrow, Thursday as these two special days are going to be observed on the same day, offering the opportunity to reflect on women's health specifically their kidney health.
The World Kidney Day-2018 with the theme of `Kidneys and Women's Health: Include, Value, Empower promotes affordable and equitable access to health education, healthcare and prevention of kidney diseases for all women and girls in the world.