Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease: Risk Factors and Prevention

Chronic kidney disease also denoted as chronic renal failure is the gradual failure of the kidney to perform its function as required. The condition occurs gradually thus goes undetected until when it is too late. According to Buttaro et al (2013, p.723), there are certain risk factors that lead to the development of chronic kidney disease that individuals should be conversant with. Chronic kidney disease is hereditary meaning it can be passed from a parent to a child via genes. Age is another factor. This implies that people over 60 years are likely to get the disease thus should be cautious. Individuals having atherosclerosis, bladder obstruction, chronic glomerulonephritis or congenital kidney disease are also at the risk of getting the

The follwong are the major kidneys tests that are performed on the patient. The first one is the glomerular filtration rate, which is performed to deduce the number of functioning nephrons, which aid in ascertaining the magnitude of kidney impairment in the individual. According to the National Kidney Foundation (2016), the glomerular filtration rate is estimated by measuring the creatinine level in the blood stream and using the results to compute the estimated GFR level. Collecting of urine samples in a 24 hour period and measuring the creatinine concentration also aid s in kidney function

The nephrologist has to deduce the major cause of the disease in the individual so that he or she can know the approach to apply in treating the ailment. According to the National Kidney Foundation (2016), the considerations made are the potential risks that expose the patient to chronic kidney disease. The major risks are other conditions in the body such as diabetes, hypertension and pregnancy. The age and weight of the individual also influence the treatment and diagnosis of the disease in the patient. Chronic kidney disease mostly affects individuals over the age of 60 years thus the diagnosis approach developed mostly suits them. If the disease is found in a child, the diagnosis and treatment approach changes since the dosage especially in prescription will change. Weight is another factor that is considered in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition. Obese individuals are at a higher risk of developing diabetes, which is a cause of the disease. The other factors considered in the treatment of the disease is the stage of the disease in the individual whether it is at mild, moderate or advanced