[1]KIDNEY DISEASE IN NEW ENGLAND
• 11,340 people in New England were living in 2006 with end-stage renal disease (the kidneys had completely failed and patients required dialysis)
• 2,261 of them, or nearly 20% of New England's end-stage renal disease population, were African American
Source: 2006 annual report of the End-Stage Renal Disease Network of New England
Nurse practitioner Dianne Gifford sounds the alarm: African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans are more likely to develop chronic kidney disease than whites.
Gifford would know. She has been treating patients who have kidney, or renal, disease for more than 10 years. She works in Medford, Mass., for Fresenius Medical Care, which provides products and services worldwide for individuals undergoing dialysis, a treatment for people with kidney failure.
The body's kidneys are the two-bean shaped organs located at the lower back, just above waist level. Healthy kidneys produce vitamin D, which keeps bones strong, and they remove waste products from blood that leave the body as urine.
If kidney function has failed, dialysis treatment is necessary to keep the blood "clean."
In Massachusetts, more than 5,000 people were treated for kidney failure in 2006, and 980 of them, or almost 20 percent, were African American, according to the End Stage Renal Disease Network of New England.
Massachusetts had 1,786 patients in 2006 who were newly diagnosed with needing immediate dialysis. The same year, 455 kidney transplants were performed, according to Fresenius Medical Care.
Kidney disease is common not just in African Americans, but in Latinos and Asians, too, who have high blood pressure and potassium-rich diets.
Potassium-rich foods that are common in the Latino or Asian diet include bananas, mangos, oranges and other fresh fruit; beans; mushrooms, peas and green vegetables; and fresh meats.
Ironically potassium-rich diets may be advised for people who have hypertension [2], or high blood pressure. However, such diets may be dangerous for African Americans, Latinos, Asians and others who have kidney disease.
"Because of a diet rich in potassium and the high incidence of high blood pressure, these ethnic groups should look for prevention earlier in their lives," Giffford said.
Franciso Cornejo, 52, a construction worker in Everett, Mass., can vouch for Gifford's advice.
Two years ago, Cornejo started to feel difficulty with urination. He fit perfectly in a category of patients who have kidney disease, whom Gifford described as Hispanic (Cornejo is from El Salvador), have a history of high blood pressure, and are passionate consumers of potassium-rich foods.
Family history is also an important indicator of who may be prone to developing kidney disease. Having a parent or sibling who has the disease increases one's own risk of developing it.
For Cornejo, that was critical - his father and brother both died of kidney disease.
Cornejo says he is lucky to "have 'only' kidney disease, and not diabetes."
Diabetes is the single-leading cause of kidney failure in adults, according to the National Kidney Foundation. Hispanic Americans are almost twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanics of the same age.
About 2.5 million Hispanics living in the U.S. have been diagnosed with diabetes. In addition, some diabetes cases in Hispanic Americans are undiagnosed.
Cornejo was added to a wait list for kidney transplants six months ago. For now, he must undergo dialysis three times per week, each visit lasting four hours.
He is used to the dialysis procedure, although he still complains about the pinches of the needles that are required to draw his blood during each four-hour-long dialysis treatment.
"It's not a good life living like that. But it's the only way I can survive," he says.
Occasionally patients choose not to continue the time-consuming demands of dialysis.
"A 94-year-old lady felt depressed with the lengthy treatment process. She decided to quit dialysis and died two weeks later," said Gifford.
Patients may have the option of undergoing dialysis at home, but the long sessions can take a huge psychological toll on accompanying family members.
A successful kidney transplant makes dialysis no longer necessary. "But not every patient qualifies for a transplant," warned Gifford.
Even though a transplant is the preferable treatment for the majority of patients, Gifford explained, "in some cases, the disease would damage any new kidney the person would receive via transplant."
The waiting list for a kidney transplant can be a long one, too.
Cornejo estimates he will be on the list for at least five years.
But he is optimistic. "If you see me, I am a strong guy. I don't look like a kidney disease patient at all," he said.
FREE INFORMATION SESSIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS
Learn about the different options for dialysis treatment at any of the following free, information sessions in Massachusetts. Sessions are held in the morning, at 10 a.m. For more information, please call 617-739-3000.
• Wednesday, May 7 - The Kidney Center, 888 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
• Monday, May 12 - Hyde Park Dialysis, 1628 Hyde Park Ave, Boston (Hyde Park)
• Friday, May 16 - South Suburban Dialysis, 241 Parkingway St., Quincy
• Thursday, May 22 - The Kidney Center, 888 Commonwealth Ave., Boston
• Friday, May 23 - The Boston Dialysis Center, 2100 Dorchester Ave., Boston (Dorchester)
• Tuesday, May 27 - The Boston Dialysis Center, 2100 Dorchester Ave., Boston (Dorchester)
• Wednesday, May 28 - Quality Care Dialysis Center Weymouth, Stetson W 2-6 West St., Weymouth.
source: EthnicNewz.org
DO YOU RECEIVE DIALYSIS TREATMENT OR HAVE KIDNEY DISEASE?
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