The theme of this World Kidney Day on 8th March presents us with a wonderful opportunity to look at much neglected patient pool of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). The article discusses solutions from various researches to shift the scenario on the better side.

Woman in our world holds the most significant position in our lives, she is the first teacher, she is the one who keeps her family’s interest above hers, the one to prepare food first & eat last & many more such unconditional sacrifices. These vital roles has led to the theme for this year’s world kidney day i.e. Kidneys & women health which is aimed at devising policies for inclusion, giving more value & empowerment to women in preventing & managing Chronic Kidney Disease.

Impact of CKD on Women

Epidemiological studies suggest that pre-dialysis CKD is more prevalent in women as compared to men & average prevalence of CKD stands out to be 14% in women while 12% in men. Various factors such as psycho-socioeconomic -  lower disease awareness leading to late or no start of dialysis among women, genetic factors relating to antibodies, pregnancy etc. are major challenges prevailing around the globe. And uneven access to care is also a major issue in countries with no universal access to healthcare.

New Trouble

Along with these a major issue of diabetes is also showing its ugly head as far as CKD is concerned. According to research article published in Kidney International by Sanjay k. Agarwal of Department of Nephrology, AIIMS, New Delhi, it has been observed that diabetes & hypertension are responsible for 40-50% of all cases of chronic renal failure with diabetes coming up as the major cause with average of 20% to that of 10% of hypertension (Data of AIIMS, Apollo Hospital and PGI).

Women share an equal burden of diabetes in our country but are more vulnerable when analyzed for gender roles, norms & value in household.

A Clear Approach

Looking at the implications, the best preventive suggestion given in the research of Sanjay K. Agarwal is the screening of CKD in high risk patients. One clear path which comes out of this is to screen a female diabetic patient & start some kind of preventive therapy. Aimil Pharmaceuticals (I) Ltd. has few years back came out with an innovative nephroprotective & nephro-corrective sugar free formulation Neeri KFT which prevents diabetic nephropathy by exerting potent aldose reductase inhibitory activity & by checking diabetes induced oxidative stress. Neeri KFT which is a polyherbal formulation of more than 29 herbs has Boerhavia diffusa​ & Crateva nurvala which reduces elevated blood urea and serum creatinine in condition of CKD by increasing the levels of anti-oxidant enzymes - Superoxide Dimutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and Glutathione (GSH).  and is responsible for anti-oxidant action by exhibiting free radical scavenging effect.

Fighting the Vulnerability

One more arena where women stands vulnerable to CKD is in the case of UTIs. Nature’s Nephrology journal discusses the implication and recognises UTI a known risk factor for kidney diseases and states that increased susceptibility to certain risk factors like UTI leads to CKD. In a country like ours we stand on roof’s end because of high prevalence of recurrent UTIs and antibiotic resistance of E.coli to Fluoroquinolones. Aimil Pharmaceuticals (I) Ltd another brand - Neeri, India’s most trusted brand in UTI segment by virtue of berberine from Berberis sp. fights even the resistant strains of E.coli by dissolving the PAP-Fimbrae of the bacteria which prevents the adhesion of bacteria to the urinary bladder and in turn minimising the chances of recurrence. Neeri also inhibits the DNA synthesis process and damages the cell membrane of the bacteria which further drops the chances of recurrence.

Action Time

Prevention of CKD is vital owing to prevalence of CKD patients & increasing number of diabetics and omni presence of UTIs, It is important in case of women as she has to play a role of family’s caretaker. This World Kidney Day gives us a great opportunity to explore the much needed breakthroughs both in preventive & corrective segment especially with respect to women kidney health.