Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov;42(1):1032-1041.
doi: 10.1080/0886022X.2020.1824924.

Occupational risk factors for chronic kidney disease in Andhra Pradesh: 'Uddanam Nephropathy'

Youssef M K Farag  1   2   3 , Kuyilan Karai Subramanian  2   3 , Vikrum A Singh  2 , Ravi Raju Tatapudi  4 , Ajay K Singh  2   3
Affiliations

Occupational risk factors for chronic kidney disease in Andhra Pradesh: 'Uddanam Nephropathy'

Youssef M K Farag et al. Ren Fail. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Background: CKD of unknown etiology (CKDu) has been reported in several countries including India. We previously showed a prevalence of CKD in India to be 17.2% and we found a CKD epidemic in Andhra Pradesh (AP) to be 46.8%. We conducted this study to further explore the unexplained CKD epidemic in AP.

Methods: We recruited 1201 adult participants through systematic random sampling from eight administrative divisions. Demographic, medical, and detailed occupational history was collected. Anthropometric measurements and blood pressure were taken and blood and urine samples were collected. Poisson regression model was used to identify potential predictors for CKD.

Results: We analyzed data for 1184 individuals with mean age of 44.6 ± 14.0 years, of whom 44% were male. Prevalence of CKD was 32.2%. Working as a farmer had 20% more prevalence of CKD compared to non-farmers in the fully adjusted model (PR 1.2, 95% CI 1.01-1.42). Age, alcohol consumption, and chewing tobacco were also independent predictors of CKD. Gender, hypertension, and diabetes were not associated with CKD.

Conclusions: The prevalence of CKD in AP is 32.2%. Occupational exposure among farmers could play a potential role in this epidemic. Large longitudinal epidemiologic research studies are needed to trace the causes of this problem.

Keywords: Andhra Pradesh; India; Uddanam Nephropathy; chronic kidney disease; farmers; occupational risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of SEEK-Andhra Study participants.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Prevalence of CKD in the SEEK-Andhra Study by gender and age categories.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Prevalence of CKD in the SEEK-Andhra Study by primary health centers (PHC).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals) for CKD comparing farmers and non-farmers in the SEEK-Andhra Study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ruggenenti P, Schieppati A, Remuzzi G.. Progression, remission, regression of chronic renal diseases. Lancet. 2001;357(9268):1601–1608. - PubMed
    1. Wild S, Roglic G, Green A, et al. Global prevalence of diabetes: estimates for the year 2000 and projections for 2030. Diabetes Care. 2004;27(5):1047–1053. - PubMed
    1. Singh AK, Farag YM, Mittal BV, et al. Epidemiology and risk factors of chronic kidney disease in India – results from the SEEK (Screening and Early Evaluation of Kidney Disease) study. BMC Nephrol. 2013;14:114. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gracia-Trabanino R, Dominguez J, Jansa JM, et al. Proteinuria and chronic renal failure in the coast of El Salvador: detection with low cost methods and associated factors. Nefrologia. 2005;25(1):31–38. - PubMed
    1. Peraza S, Wesseling C, Aragon A, et al. Decreased kidney function among agricultural workers in El Salvador. Am J Kidney Dis. 2012;59(4):531–540. - PubMed