The second Thursday of March has been established internationally as World Kidney Day, with the aim of informing and raising awareness of society about kidney health. Although kidney diseases are the tenth most common cause of death worldwide, they often do not receive the attention they deserve in terms of prevention, early diagnosis and public awareness of ways to protect kidney function.
In fact, kidney diseases affect many more people than we realize. Most of us know someone who is experiencing some form of kidney disease. It is no coincidence, since one in ten people worldwide is affected by Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), while experts estimate that this number will continue to increase in the coming years.
Although only a small percentage of patients will eventually need kidney replacement therapy, such as hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis or kidney transplantation, in our country more than 200 new patients are enrolled in such treatments each year. This percentage is among the two highest in Europe in the last ten years.
These figures are particularly worrying, as they are almost double the rates recorded in comparison to the European average and most Mediterranean countries. As a result, an increase of 115% has been observed in recent years in the number of people undergoing hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis on our island.
This continuous increase in cases of serious kidney disease also brings a significant financial burden on health systems. In combination with insufficient prevention and delayed diagnosis of CKD in its early stages, additional challenges are created, such as shortages of specialized medical and nursing personnel, a problem that is recorded not only at the national but also at the international level.
Taking into account all of the above, the message of this year’s World Kidney Day – “Kidney Health for All” takes on even greater importance. Prevention, early diagnosis and equal access to quality health services are key factors in reducing the burden of chronic kidney disease.
With the implementation of the General Health System, citizens’ access to health services has improved significantly, enabling more residents of our island to address both personal and specialist doctors with greater ease.
In this context, we also contribute daily to this effort, seeking to offer patients with kidney disease the care, support and respect they deserve, through responsible health services and continuous improvement of the quality of care.