Awareness campaign on kidney failure

BANGKOK, Feb 1 (TNA) – Thai people are urged to eat less salt and do regular exercises to reduce a risk for developing kidney diseases. National Health Security Office (NHSO) and Nephrology Society of Thailand will jointly organize the public relation campaign to raise awareness on kidney diseases on March 3 at Central World to coincide with the World Kidney Day. The campaign will encourage people to have a healthy lifestyle and to avoid unnecessary drug therapy, which could affect kidney. The World Kidney Day is observed annually on the 2nd Thursday in March or on March 8 this year. According to the NHSO, the figure Sept last year showed that Thailand had 39,411 patients with end- stage renal disease or kidney failure in Sept 2017. Out of this, 51 per cent of the patients or 20,125 cases are women. NHSO’s deputy secretary-general, Dr Chuchai Sornchamni said to prevent the disease, NHSO it will raise awareness among Thai people to eat less salt as 70 per cent of the renal disease is related to eating habits. If people change their habits to have a diet of less salt, less sugar and exercise regularly, it can reduce risk for developing the kindney disease. Otherwise, the number of patients with chronic kidney disease could climb to 59,209 cases in 2021. President of Nephrology Society of Thailand, Kriengsak Vareesangthip said pregnant women, who eat too much salt and sugar could have a risk of having diabetes and the babies are more likely to be born underweight and are prone to have diabetes and hypertension when they grow up. (TNA)