Kidney disease, 14 thousand Belluno people affected

Tomorrow, world kidney day, head physician Bandera launches an appeal: «Follow the eight golden rules. Early prevention and diagnosis essential to keep the situation under control “

BELLUNO. Eight golden rules for keeping your kidneys healthy. Thursday 10 March is World Kidney Day around the world, an awareness campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of our kidneys, risk factors and how to deal with kidney disease, which affects about 14,000 people in the province.

The Ulss has decided to organize a meeting open to citizens, which will be held online from 6 pm with the Director of the Nephrological Department Andrea Bandera, during which important issues for kidney health such as hypertension, vitamin D and the correct reading of the blood and urine tests. To register, send an email to :[email protected].

It’s up to the head of Nephrology, Andrea Bandera, to take stock of the situation: «Chronic kidney disease is widespread and is constantly increasing. In its initial and sometimes even advanced forms, it does not manifest itself with obvious signs and for this reason it is often recognized very late. In Italy the prevalence of chronic kidney disease is about 7% (slightly higher in males than in females) and diabetic nephropathy together with hypertension are the two most frequent causes of kidney damage that can lead to dialysis. In the province of Belluno there are about 14 thousand people suffering from chronic kidney disease. In addition, people with chronic kidney disease have a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular mortality, up to 20 times greater than the general population. It is therefore important to make people aware of the importance of keeping our kidneys healthy ».

What practical advice can we give to help keep our kidneys healthy? “These are very simple indications that we can summarize in eight golden rules: keep fit and active; check your blood sugar level; check blood pressure; eat a healthy and balanced diet; maintain a correct and regular intake of liquids; not smoking; do not take medications unless instructed by the doctor; always keep your kidney function under control if you have one or more of the risk factors ».

Medically, what to do to control chronic kidney disease?

«The main actions are two: prevention and early diagnosis. Prevention also applies to other chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, lung diseases and cancers, which represent the main public health problem worldwide, as the first cause of disability and mortality. These chronic diseases are linked to the presence of some risk factors: hyperglycemia, hypertension, increased blood fat (cholesterol and triglycerides). These factors, if diagnosed and treated in time, can be reversible by adopting adequate and correct lifestyles. And then early diagnosis. With simple blood and urine tests it is possible to understand if our kidneys have problems or if they are functioning well ».

In these two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, how was the activity of Nephrologies? «The activity of Nephrology has never stopped, both in Belluno and in Feltre; we have experimented with new ways of performing nephrological visits remotely. The preparation of the arteriovenous fistula for dialysis was consolidated in favor of patients from all over the Veneto region. We also take care of the training and preparation of vascular accesses for other colleagues in the Veneto region. In the last two years we have increased the possibility of performing dialysis treatment no longer in the hospital but on the territory or at home, with peritoneal dialysis and with the hemodialysis service in two RSAs, in Longarone and Cavarzano. In this way people can undergo this life-saving treatment in their living environment, avoiding travel but guaranteeing safety and effectiveness “.