University of Tasmania study finds increase in Tasmanians with kidney disease

A university study has found chronic kidney disease is affecting more Tasmanian lives than ever. Here’s why >>

Grant West of Blackmans Bay who has been the recipient of a kidney transplant. Picture: Chris Kidd

Chronic kidney disease is affecting more Tasmanian lives, with new medical research attributing the steep increase to a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet.

A University of Tasmania Tasmanian Chronic Kidney Disease study found adults living with kidney disease has increased by almost 30 per cent in the past decade, and up to 45 per cent in remote areas.

UTAS School of Medical Science and general practitioner Professor Jan Radford said the research looked at pathology results of more than 580,000 Tasmanians between 2004 and 2020 whose GP had requested a blood test to check kidney function.

“Chronic kidney disease is very similar to the same sorts of factors related to heart disease, the type of dementia that’s due to vascular disease and arterial disease,” she said.

“There are in kidney disease certain tendencies that are peculiar to a certain type of kidney disease that’s not related to those factors but it’s likely we think that the majority of this rise is due to those potentially reversible problems – keeping blood pressure well controlled, avoid diabetes and a lot of that underlying is obesity and lack of exercise.”

The vast majority of the common causes looked at the studies Professor Radford said was because of lifestyle factors.

“The rates of obesity continue to climb and the awareness of blood pressure and diabetes, like if you have it, it can be avoided – those messages have been around a long time but as a GP I don’t see that we’re really getting on top of it that well,” she said.

“In our communities where resources are lower, they have more of a struggle … so the lack of attention to the funding of primary care is a major problem.”

Kidney Health Australia is urging the federal government to support an early detection and management program for kidney disease with funding in the upcoming budget.

Blackmans Bay resident Grant West considers himself lucky after his general practitioner (GP) detected a protein in his urine early on.

He was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder and later was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

“All we could do was monitor that decline over decades,” the 77-year-old said.

“Kidney disease seems to take all sorts of forms, I’ve known for perhaps three decades that my kidneys were gradually going downhill.”

Despite not being a typical patient with kidney disease, Mr West maintained his health with regular exercise and a healthy diet.

At 71 years old, his kidney had become non-functional and started dialysis.

“Four months later, to my immense surprise, I had the offer of a kidney transplant,” he said.

“I had a good innings in this world of ours, so I didn’t really expect that.

“But the lesson I took home was that if you can keep yourself in a condition where you can survive a major operation … then even at that age, there’s still hope.”