Cases of kidney failure sees rapid rise in Maharashtra

Kidney failure has become a major concern among the people of Maharashtra as the number of such cases has surged by 48 per cent within the last three years.

A total 2,553 cases of kidney failure were recorded in 2013, followed by 2,550 in 2014. The figures rose to 3,781 in 2015 in the state. The data has been gathered from the state health department. Medical experts said the increasing cases of diabetes and irregular lifestyle are the contributing factors for the rising cases of kidney failure.

Speaking about the trend, Dr Niwrutti Hase, departmental head of nephrology at KEM Hospital said, “Irregular lifestyle is leading to more number of people becoming affected with diabetes. Kidneys do not fail all of a sudden. After a person becomes obese, it also gets aggravated in cases of diabetes. This in turn affects the functioning of the kidney and may lead to its damage.”

She further said, “Around 60,000 dialysis are performed every month in Mumbai. This figure is one of the highest in the country.”

The doctor also said there has been a shift in the age group of patients suffering from kidney ailments as it is increasingly affecting youngsters.

Many of them are also suffering from chronic kidney diseases.

Commenting on the matter, nephrologist Dr Madan Bahadur from Jaslok Hospital said, “Changing lifestyle among the youth and limitation of movement leads to obesity. Also, high consumption of fast food during the working hours adds extra fats to their kidneys. This does not directly cause kidney failure but can lead to it.”

The doctors also said that in many of such cases, it is getting difficult for the doctors to diagnose the causes of kidney failure. “It is not that a patient with diabetes or hypertension gets diagnosed with kidney failure. In many cases, we cannot find out the cause in our diagnosis. In such cases we mark the reason of the disease as ‘unknown’,” said Dr Hase.

In an attempt to reduce chances of damage to the kidneys, doctors ask people to avoid taking over-the-counter painkillers which adversely affects the kidneys, he said. “During my diagnosis, I have seen that consuming strong medicines for a long time without a doctor’s recommendation have caused serious damage to kidneys,” added Dr Bahadur.