Kidneys and women’s health – include, value, empower
World Kidney Day is a joint initiative of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF).
Celebrated every year on the second Thursday of March, World Kidney Day (WKD) is a global initiative that aims at increasing awareness of the importance of our kidneys to our health and reducing the impact of kidney disease and its associated problems worldwide. In 2018, World Kidney Day coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8, offering the opportunity to highlight the importance of women’s health and particularly their kidney health.
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a non-communicable disease that affects 1 in 10 people worldwide. While severity can vary, CKD is incurable and causes the patient to need lifelong care. As the incidence of kidney disease escalates, World Kidney Day plays a crucial role in educating the public, the medical community and governments and encouraging prevention and early detection of kidney disease.
Did you know that:
- CKD is the 8th leading cause of death in women causing more than 600,000 female deaths a year
- 195 million women worldwide are affected by Chronic Kidney Disease
- CKD is more likely to develop in women compared with men, with an average 14% prevalence in women and 12% in men
- Some Kidney diseases such as Lupus Nephropathy or kidney infection are more common in women
- Women who have CKD during pregnancy are at increased risk for negative outcomes for the mother and the baby; pregnancies in women with advanced CKD are most challenging
- Pregnancy-related complications increase the risk of kidney disease – women who had preeclampsia are at 4-to-5 times increased risk of developing end-stage kidney disease
- Intensive dialysis can increase chances of successful pregnancy in women with CKD
- In women who have received successful kidney transplants, fertility can be restored and pregnancy associated complications are much improved.
- While women tend more often to donate organs, they are less likely to receive Kidneys are no exception.
- There is a clear need for higher awareness, timely diagnosis and proper follow up of CKD in pregnancy. In turn, pregnancy may be also a valuable occasion for early diagnosis of CKD, allowing planning of therapeutic interventions.
- World Kidney Day promotes affordable and equitable access to health education, healthcare and prevention for kidney diseases for all women and girls in the world.
The content of this article is from www.worldkidneyday.org