Doctors require screening for chronic kidney disease, with a wide prevalence in Portugal

The Portuguese Society of Nephrology (SPN) today warned of the need to intensify screening for chronic kidney disease, which it claims is twice as common in Portugal as in the rest of the world.

In the context of World Kidney Day, which falls this year on March 9, SPN emphasized, in a statement, that it is a “very limited” disease and with costs that represent between 2% and 6% of the patients’ care budget. health.

It is estimated that 1 in 10 people in the world suffers from this disease. In Portugal, the most recent study – published in 2020 – indicated a prevalence of 20%, according to the same source.

“These figures are justified by the fact that in Portugal screening for chronic kidney disease is not a priority for the health authorities, and therefore patients appear in very advanced stages of the disease, in irreversible conditions,” reads the document released by SPN.

The disease is asymptomatic, which also does not help in early detection.

Available data indicates that by 2040, chronic kidney disease could be the fifth leading cause of death and loss of quality of life.

The main cause of the disease is diabetes, and there are other diseases that have some weight in the development of pathology, such as high blood pressure.

“A healthy lifestyle is a formula that works to prevent most diseases, including chronic kidney disease, the Mediterranean diet, physical exercise, not smoking, and drinking water regularly (one liter of water per day) are all healthy measures,” it can Read the statement in the statement.