Chronic Kidney Disease in Latin America

Abstract

Latin America is a conglomerate of adjacent countries that share a Latin extraction and language (Spanish or Portuguese) and exhibit extreme variations in socioeconomic status. End-stage renal disease prevalence and incidence rates have been growing steadily, probably as a result of the increase in life expectancy, aging of the population, a growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes, and a fast epidemiologic transition across the region. Chronic noncommunicable diseases impose an enormous cost, barely supported at present and unlikely afforded by Latin America in the future. National health surveys in Chile, Mexico, and Argentina showed a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. A total of 21% of the Chilean population had a creatinine clearance <80 ml/min. Among the surveyed people, 8.6% of Argentines, 14.2% of Chileans, and 9.2% of Mexicans had proteinuria. There are ongoing national chronic kidney disease detection programs in Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela; Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Paraguay are still developing them. The prevalence of cardiovascular and renal risk factors is high in Latin America. Data about chronic kidney disease are scarce, but public health awareness is high, evidenced by ongoing or developing chronic kidney disease detection programs. High-risk patients (e.g., those with hypertension or diabetes, elderly) must be studied, using simple determinations such as creatinine and proteinuria. For these programs to succeed, lifestyle changes must be encouraged, and public awareness must be increased through teaching and media-oriented activities.

Burden of chronic kidney disease in resource-limited settings from Peru: a population-based study

“…Although measures of CKD prevalence in Latin America are rare [34], reports from El Salvador and Nicaragua have estimated that 12.7 % of these populations are afflicted with CKD [35,36]. In addition, a recent survey examining CKD prevalence in Latin America reported the prevalence of proteinuria in Mexico and Chile to be 9.2 % and 14.2 %, respectively [37]. Notably, the definition of CKD used in these studies has varied including differences in thresholds defining proteinuria and eGFR, in equations used to calculate eGFR, and in the reliance on eGFR and proteinuria to define CKD.…”

The ascending rank of chronic kidney disease in the global burden of disease study

“…The increase in CKD in Latin America has been attributed to demographic changes (aging population and rapid epidemiologic transition) as well as to an epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes [25]. Others have suggested that a significant contributor to the problem in Central Latin America is the high level of health care inequality, with the greatest burden of CKD mortality and morbidity being born by those who are uninsured in Mexico's health system [26].…”

Screening for Decreased Renal Function in Taxi Drivers in Tehran, Iran

“…Although data about chronic kidney disease are scarce, public health awareness is high, as evidenced by ongoing chronic kidney disease (CKD) detection programs. [11,12] The prevalence of ESRD is currently more than 2,000 per million population (p.m.p) in Japan. The estimated prevalence of a low GFR (< 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) is 20% of the adult population.…”