Aetiology and Demographic Pattern of Chronic Kidney Disease in a Tertiary Health Institution in South-East Nigeria: A Four-Year Review CKD in South East Nigeria

Abstract

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), chronic kidney disease (CKD) is considered to be more common in men, the young and middle aged; while hypertension and glomerular diseases are the main causes of CKD. However its causes, and demographic distribution differ regionally. This may be due to variations in exposure to communicable and non-communicable diseases, differences in prevalent behavioural practices like cigarette smoking, genetic factors. Objectives: This study sought to explore the demographic characteristics and causes of chronic kidney disease seen in a tertiary hospital in Anambra State, South-Eastern Nigeria. Methodology: Medical records of all adults with kidney disease, aged 18 years and above, seen at the nephrology clinics over a four year time span with a diagnosis of CKD were reviewed. Results: The median age of the study cohort was 57 years (range = 18 to 94 years). More than 60% of CKD patients were older than 50 years and the peak age ranged between 51 to 70 years. Females accounted for 51.7% of patients and the male: female was 0.9:1. The most frequent causes of CKD were hypertensive nephropathy (46.7%) followed by diabetic kidney disease (27.9%). Only 3.06% of patients had chronic glomerulonephritis. Conclusion: The CKD population in Anambra State, south-east Nigeria is older than what have been reported previously from most other parts of SSA; also the sex disparity seen in earlier studies has disappeared. Importantly, diabetes is becoming an important cause of CKD in this sub-region. Earlier recognition and better treatment of Diabetes mellitus are necessary to reduce the burden of CKD in Anambra State.