World Kidney Day highlights diabetes risk crossover

A special event has called for the early identification and treatment of chronic kidney disease, particularly amongst patients who are high risk. World Kidney Day (WKD) and the European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA) called for the support of the European Union for early awareness, identification and treatment of chronic kidney disease . Diabetes is thought to be the leading cause of Chronic Kidney Disease.
A special meeting was tabled at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, to coincide with an annual global health awareness campaign on World Kidney Day on the 11th March 2010. MEP Mrs. Frieda Brepoels reportedly commented: “The European Union should continue to encourage the competent authorities in the Member States to take action to address the problem of chronic kidney disease, diabetes and the other associated diseases. Preventative strategies are the only way to minimise the number of people needing organ transplants in the future. Increasing awareness of CKD is the first and, perhaps, most important step towards preventing kidney failure . Today, we urge the EU to use its authoritative voice to support competent authorities in developing public health programs that acknowledge the importance of preventing CKD.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the EKHA, Professor Andrew Rees, reportedly said: “Although, chronic kidney disease affects at least 10% of the European population(2), there is little awareness of the problems it causes, particularly amongst high-risk groups such as patients with diabetes . Today we are calling for novel strategies to improve early detection of CKD as part of a coordinated approach to tackle major chronic diseases .”