Dubai health authority marks World Kidney day 2013

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) concluded its two-week public health awareness and free screening campaign as part of its efforts to mark the 8th World Kidney Day and raise awareness about acute kidney injury and kidney disease The campaign concluded today in presence of Engineer Essa Al Maidoor, Director-General of the DHA, Khalid Al Sheikh Mubarak, Deputy Director-General of the DHA, Dr Mohammad Al Olama, CEO of Hospital Services Sector at the DHA and Dr Hussein Abdul Rehman, Medical Director of Dubai Hospital. Hundreds of people were screened at the free awareness campaign which took place across DHA hospitals including Dubai, Hatta and Rashid Hospital and DHA health centres including Al Mamzar and Al Safa Primary healthcare centre. The screening campaign included tests such as blood, urine, blood pressure, blood sugar and weight check-up to help determine whether the patient already has damaged kidneys or is at a risk of developing kidney disease. Al Maidoor said, "On the occasion of World Kidney Day, our message to the community is to be aware about kidney disease and to screen themselves regularly especially if they have other complications such as diabetes and hypertension." Dr Mohammed Railey, consultant head of the Nephrology Department at Dubai Hospital said: "A major problem we face is that most of our patients visit us when they already have advanced kidney disease. Lack of awareness and the fact that the disease is a silent disease and thus often goes undetected are the two main reasons for delayed treatment. Patients approach us when they are in the advanced stages and have kidney failure and many even need dialysis. Hence, healthcare practitioners advocate the importance of early detection." Dr Railey added that if the patient's kidney is damaged, proteins are leaked into the urine and can be identified with a simple urine test. He said, "People with diabetes and high blood pressure are at a higher risk of developing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and therefore they must regularly undergo kidney screening tests." He said that the Dubai Hospital Nephrology Department has 240 patients on dialysis. Of these 200 are on hemodialysis and 40 are on home peritoneal dialysis. "Every year, we see a 10 to 15 per cent rise in the number of patients, which is a global trend, however, the main reason for the high prevalence of kidney disease in this region is the fact that a significant percentage of our population has diabetes. Nearly 50 per cent of our patients on dialysis are diabetic. Therefore for us, it is imperative to advocate the importance of early screening, especially for diabetics. If detected early, Chronic Kidney Diseases can be treated thereby reducing other complications of the disease." Dr Railey said that the age group of patients varies from 15 years to 91 years. The public awareness campaign was organized by the Nephrology department at Dubai Hospital.