A survey reveals that the need for kidney transplants and dialysis is expected to soar by 2020 mainly due to a rise in diabetics developing chronic kidney disease and needing treatment. The total number of Australians being treated for end-stage kidney disease is forecast to rise by up to 80 per cent to about 4300 in the coming decade. While the fact that Australia's population is ageing and growing means more people are likely to develop end-stage kidney disease, the number of diabetics with the condition is also on the rise.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) forecast the proportion of diabetics undergoing transplants or dialysis would rise to 64 per cent in 2020 from 45 per cent in 2009. The researchers are urging the federal government to give extra incentives to GPs to carry out more thorough checks for kidney disease in diabetic patients.
Kidney Health Australia medical director Tim Matthew said that if more blood and urine tests to check kidney function were performed on diabetics, kidney disease could be detected earlier and managed to prevent the need for dialysis or transplants. “We would call on the government to look at these projections which are alarming at best and will double the number of people coming on to dialysis programs within the next 10 to 15 years…Kidney disease doesn't cause any particular symptoms so it's a silent disease, you have to go looking for it and if you find it you can swing into place a program of management which does make a difference in terms of how many progress,” he explained.
Diabetes has become the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease in Australia and New Zealand among people waiting for kidney transplants, having overtaken glomerulonephritis since 2004. Diabetics produce a special type of protein-like substance which blocks filters in the kidney, preventing blood flow and the organ's ability to function. Patients in the final stages of chronic kidney disease can only survive if they have a transplant or go on dialysis.
The cost of treating chronic kidney disease patients has been forecast by Kidney Health Australia to hit $1.9 billion in 2020, up from $1.2 billion in 2010.
On a state by state basis, the Northern Territory was expected to continue having the highest incidence rates of people being treated for end-stage kidney disease mainly due to high rates among its indigenous population. However, the 40 per cent predicted rise in the number of treated cases in the NT by 2020 was smaller than other states and territories. The number of cases being treated in NSW and the ACT as well as South Australia was forecast to surge by 80 per cent by 2020. In Western Australia the numbers were expected to rise 72 per cent, increase 19 per cent in Tasmania, lift by 15 per cent in Victoria and double in Queensland.
The Institute's Dr Lynelle Moon said, “When people do need dialysis or transplant it really has a big impact on themselves, but also on hospitals in particular when they are treating people.”
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