Kidney disease and its risk factors among Nigerians: Report of the World Kidney Day 2022 National Screening Programme

Abstract

Background: The burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is great in low- and middle-income parts of the world compared to high-income regions. Determining CKD prevalence is crucial to drive and support evidence-based advocacy for policies that alleviate the burden of CKD in the most affected regions and countries. Using the World Kidney Day (WKD) vehicle, we estimated the prevalence of kidney dysfunction and its risk factors in a nationally representative sample in Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of Nigerians from all six geopolitical zones of the country, involving 36 public and private medical facilities, which served as screening centres for the communities they serve during the WKD 2022 activities. Awareness campaigns, health education, and screening for kidney dysfunction and its risk factors were undertaken. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated using the CKD–EPI formula, while freshly voided urine was obtained for dipstick urinalysis. An eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 was considered to indicate kidney dysfunction. A random effects model was used to obtain the pooled prevalence of kidney dysfunction after the conversion of the individual proportions using the Freeman–Tukey transformation. Results: A total of 4,313 participants were screened, whose mean age was 43.07 ± 13.35 years; the overall proportion of females was 60.4%. The pooled prevalence of kidney dysfunction was 13.7% (95%CI 11.1–16.5%), while 46.7%, 7.4%, 24.1% and 19.8% of the participants manifested hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and proteinuria, respectively. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of kidney dysfunction among adult Nigerians, and hypertension, DM, and obesity were the leading risk factors for the condition identified in the population.