»People don’t notice anything«

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Ill kidneys suffer silently

To improve the situation quickly, anyone can ask their family doctor for a kidney function test. This is particularly advisable for people who are severely overweight, who have a family history of kidney disease, or who suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. Doctors should check creatinine and albumin levels. Because these tests are not yet fully covered by health insurance, patients may have to pay for them themselves – but the costs are low.

Weinmann-Menke also advocated for establishing kidney screening, which could be integrated into the »Check-up 35« (a routine preventive exam for adults in Germany). A key milestone toward earlier detection, she noted, was the World Health Organization (WHO)’s recognition of CKD as a global widespread disease in June this year. »That will promote preventive and public awareness programs,« she said. The DGfN is calling for a national kidney plan, ensuring sufficient research opportunities to evaluate new therapy options. Only then will CKD no longer be seen as a life-threatening disease but as a condition from which more and more people can be protected – preventing both dialysis and transplantation.

The second major group of dangerous kidney diseases, which often affect young people without their knowing it, are the glomerulonephritides (GN), explained Professor Dr. J. Menne, Chief Physician of the Clinic for Nephrology, Angiology, Hypertensiology, and Rheumatology at KRH Klinikum Siloah, Hannover. »The term glomerulonephritides comes from glomerulus, meaning kidney corpuscle, and nephritis, meaning inflammation in the kidney,« explained the DGfN Congress President. Unfortunately, GN also produces no symptoms. »People really don’t notice anything,« he said. While not long ago doctors didn’t know exactly what caused GN, today they can identify the origins of many forms in detail. The corresponding blood markers can be measured. This knowledge has significant benefits – it allows GN to be detected much earlier and treated successfully, sparing patients from dialysis.

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