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
. 2025 Aug 17;17(8):e90299.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.90299. eCollection 2025 Aug.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Screening of Kidney Disease Among Asymptomatic Healthcare Students at a Tertiary Healthcare Center in Coastal Andhra Pradesh

Nishal A Kumar  1 , Vs Bhargav Pradeep Konakanchi  2   3 , Advaita Veliyambra  4 , Sumanth Gundraju  5 , Srija Kadari  6 , Vinod Kumar Reddy Murukuti  7 , Sai Maneesha Thondur  8 , Abhishek Kande  2
Affiliations

Knowledge, Attitude, and Screening of Kidney Disease Among Asymptomatic Healthcare Students at a Tertiary Healthcare Center in Coastal Andhra Pradesh

Nishal A Kumar et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) often begins silently and is typically identified only in its advanced stages. In regions such as North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, a high prevalence of CKD of unknown etiology (CKDu) has been reported. Early detection in asymptomatic individuals, especially among future healthcare professionals, is vital for prevention and timely intervention. Methods An observational study was conducted among 240 healthcare students, including medical and paramedical undergraduates. The participants were evaluated for knowledge, attitudes, and symptoms related to kidney disease. Urine dipstick testing was performed to screen for proteinuria and glycosuria. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Among medical students, 6.1% had good knowledge, 81.6% had fair knowledge, and 12.2% had poor knowledge of kidney disease. In contrast, 58.3% of paramedical students had poor knowledge. Proteinuria was detected in 11.3% of male and 21.4% of female medical students; 8.3% of paramedical students also tested positive. Attitude toward kidney health, treatment preference, and organ donation varied significantly between groups. Conclusion A notable proportion of asymptomatic young healthcare students showed early urinary abnormalities. Knowledge gaps and varying attitudes emphasize the need for targeted education and routine screening initiatives in medical training.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease (ckd); ckdu; healthcare students; knowledge-attitude-practice; proteinuria; screening; urine dipstick.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Informed consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. The Institutional Ethics Committee of Andhra Medical College issued approval 200/IEC AMC/JUNE 2021. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

References

    1. Epidemiology and risk factors of chronic kidney disease in India - results from the SEEK (Screening and Early Evaluation of Kidney Disease) study. Singh AK, Farag YM, Mittal BV, et al. BMC Nephrol. 2013;14:114. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Prevalence of chronic renal failure in adults in Delhi, India. Agarwal SK, Dash SC, Irshad M, Raju S, Singh R, Pandey RM. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2005;20:1638–1642. - PubMed
    1. Epidemiology of chronic kidney disease, with special emphasis on chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology, in the north central region of Sri Lanka. Jayasekara KB, Dissanayake DM, Sivakanesan R, Ranasinghe A, Karunarathna RH, Priyantha Kumara GW. J Epidemiol. 2015;25:275–280. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Prevention of chronic renal failure at the community level. Mani MK. Kidney Int Suppl. 2003:0–9. - PubMed
    1. Chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular risk in six regions of the world (ISN-KDDC): a cross-sectional study. Ene‑Iordache B, Perico N, Bikbov B, et al. Lancet Glob Health. 2016;4:0–19. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources