Diabetes major link to kidney failure
Most people know there are serious health risks related to being obese but a new study demonstrates yet another cause for concern.
Obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes and a report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information released Wednesday found that diabetes is a major risk factor for kidney failure, otherwise known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Over a 10-year period the number of newly diagnosed kidney failure patients with diabetes increased by 114 per cent, the study said. That jump correlates with an increase in the incidence of diabetes in the Canadian
population overall, the study said.
Between 1995 and 2004 the number of kidney failure patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes more than tripled. More than 17,000 kidney failure patients were diagnosed with diabetes, the data showed.
Among kidney failure patients with type 2 diabetes, 30 per cent were determined to be obese.
“Diabetes is the fastest growing cause of end-stage renal disease,” Margaret Keresteci, CIHI’s manager of clinical registries, said in a news release.
“In fact, diabetes is now a factor in more than 40 per cent of all registered ESRD patients, up from 25 per cent 10 years ago. It’s important to note that the type of diabetes driving the increase is linked to obesity and lifestyle factors.”
Type 2 diabetes is often a preventable disease and preventing it could help reduce the risk of serious health consequences, including kidney failure, Keresteci said.
The study examined survival rates for dialysis patients with diabetes and found that diabetics did not fare as well as non-diabetics. The difference was more pronounced among younger patients, the CIHI report said.
Diabetic patients on dialysis between the ages of 18 and 65 had a 10 per cent lower five-year survival rate when compared to those without diabetes.
A smaller difference - six per cent - was seen between patients over 65. Kidney transplant recipients also had a lower chance of survival, the analysis showed. Non-diabetic recipients had 93 per cent five-year survival rates, compared to 82 per cent for those with type 2 diabetes.
The report, Treatment of End-Stage Organ Failure in Canada, 1995 to 2004, also provided data on other kinds of organ transplants. Among its highlights:
-The number of patients waiting for a liver transplant increased 348 per cent over the 10-year period
-Over the decade, 1,571 people had a heart transplant and 58 required a second one
-The number of adult lung transplants increased by 64 per cent
-On a yearly basis the number of living organ donors increased from 230 in 1995 to 476 in 2004
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