Nephrologist worries over rising cases of kidney disorders

• says UBTH is installing more equipment to handle cases

A Benin-based Consultant Nephrologist, Dr Ojeh Oziegbe Odije, has expressed worry over the rising cases of kidney disorder in Nigeria.

Ozeiegbe, who consults at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), in Benin, Edo, gave the expression in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Benin.

He said that the factors aggravating the disorders were also on the rise.

According to him, the ailment has become a nationwide concern.

“The last population studies we did in a nearby village showed that close to one-third of the public are beginning to have kidney problems and that is a terrible figure.

“I have been more or less with this kidney unit since it started around 1999 and at that particular time, we probably diagnosed three or four patients a day.

“But what we have now is that in UBTH at times, we diagnose between 10 and 13 a day.

“In addition, there are about four dialysis centres in Benin that equally operate at full capacity.

“We used to provide all the services that the town requires but now, there are five dialysis centres working at full capacity as the number of patients is on the increase,’’ he explained.

He attributed the rising number of kidney cases to unresolved infectious diseases like hypertension and diabetes, according to him, are a risk factor for kidney diseases.

“A lot of people are now becoming hypertensive at a younger age and that causes close to half of the number of kidney diseases that we have.

“Use of drugs are on the rise especially the ‘feel good’ drugs.

“In Nigeria, there’s this habit that is very common, when they finish working in the evenings they come home and tell the chemist to give them a mixture of five to seven drugs.

“They take those and they feel happy because they feel stronger.

“But it causes cumulative damage on the system.

“Our Western lifestyle is a major player while excessive intake of sugar or sweet things encourage diabetes to increase and that causes kidney damage.’’

He said that UBTH is now installing more equipment and also training more nephrologists to help handle kidney-related ailment.

“The management of UBTH takes pain to ensure that our dialysis machines are up to date and functioning effectively,’’ he said.

He tasked Nigerians to adopt a healthy lifestyle that prevents kidney diseases and other ailments. (NAN)