Issue 169 Item 13 Kidney Screening Finds Hypertension and Diabetes

Screening discovers 33% of undetected patients with hypertension, diabetes and kidney dysfunction.

A community-based screening program that targets people at increased risk for chronic kidney disease uncovered nearly 2,000 cases of previously undetected hypertension, diabetes, and kidney dysfunction among more than 6,000 participants from around the United States.

In 2000-2001, National Kidney Foundation affiliates conducted 135 screenings in 33 states at community sites such as churches, health centers, schools, and recreation centers. The 6,071 participants were screened because they had a first-degree relative with diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease, or a personal history of diabetes or hypertension.

The program included assessment of weight, blood pressure, blood glucose, hemoglobin, serum creatinine, microalbuminuria, hematuria, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, Dr. Wendy Weinstock Brown of St. Louis University and her associates said
A total of 1,014 people were found to have hypertension (35% of the subjects who thought they didn’t have hypertension), 82 had high blood glucose (2% of the subjects who thought they didn’t have diabetes), and 839 had reduced kidney function (14% of those who thought they didn’t have kidney dysfunction). Also, high blood pressure was uncontrolled in 64% of subjects with known hypertension, 23% of those with known diabetes, and 23% of those with known renal impairment.
Am. J. Kidney Dis. 42[1]:22-35, 2003.

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FACT: Parents, not fast-food restaurants, are most responsible for the rise of obesity in American children, a survey said on Tuesday. Two out of three U.S. households surveyed by ACNielsen said the parent or guardian was to blame for obesity in children 17 and under, with fast-food restaurants blamed by only 10% and food manufacturers named by only 1%. The child received the most blame from 9% of the 22,000 households that responded, while advertising, television, radio and other media received 7% of the blame, according to ACNielsen. Obesity, especially among children, has become a high profile topic in recent months, with lawsuits filed against fast-food restaurants and food-makers. In the United States, 61% of adults aged 20 to 74 and about a quarter of children are considered overweight or obese.