Chronic Kidney Disease Affects 4.9 Percent of Children and Adolescents in India

Nearly 4.9 percent of Indian children and adolescents suffer from kidney failure, according to a first-ever nationwide survey.

What is impaired kidney function?

Impaired kidney function causes kidney damage to worsen over several months or years: chronic kidney disease (CKD).1^✔ ✔Reliable source
Impaired kidney function

Go to the source

).

It is a major public health problem and its incidence in children and adolescents in India is not well described.

The new study by researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences – Bathinda and Vijaypur, and The George Institute for Global Health (NS:GLOH) India, is based on the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) of 24,690 children and adolescents aged 5–19 years between 2016 and 2018.

The results showed 4.9 percent of children and adolescents, or about 49,000 cases per million inhabitants, suffer from impaired kidney function.

“Key predictive factors include age, rural residence, lower maternal education level and stunting. Addressing these factors is crucial to improving child health outcomes,” said Professor Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director of the George Institute for Global Health in India, in a post on X.

Prevalence of impaired renal function in India

The prevalence of impaired renal function was found to be higher in men and in rural areas.

Furthermore, Andhra Pradesh, followed by Telangana and West Bengal showed the highest number of cases, while the prevalence was lowest in Tamil Nadu (NS:TNNP), Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Kerala.

“The high prevalence of kidney failure among Indian children and adolescents underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions and policies to address this growing public health problem. It’s time to prioritize pediatric kidney health in national health” said Vivekanand Jha.

1. Impaired kidney function – (https://www.drugs.com/cg/altered-renal-disfunction.html)

Source-IANS