Chronic kidney disease (CKD) coupled with hypertension has emerged as a a significant public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa, showed a new systematic review published in the journal BMC Public Health.
Hypertensive kidney disease is one of the long-term complications of poorly controlled hypertension. After diabetes, it the biggest factor causing CKD, which significantly increases the burden of cardiovascular disease and fatality risk.
The global prevalence of CKD is 13.4 per cent, pushed up by the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and obesity.
In Africa, CKD found to be 15.8 per cent prevalent in the general population and 32.3 per cent in high-risk populations. The share in sub-Saharan Africa was significantly higher than in North Africa.
In the review, researchers looked at 16 studies on CKD among hypertensive patients across sub-Saharan Africa up to May 20, 2024.
All the studies were cross-sectional, with seven from Nigeria and three from Cameroon. Two were from Ethiopia, one from Uganda, one from Ghana, one from Zimbabwe and one from Sierra Leone.
The prevalence of CKD among hypertension in each study varied from 15 per cent to 50 per cent. The overall pooled prevalence of CKD among hypertension patients was 29.01 per cent, according to the analysis. This was in line with the overall global pooled prevalence of CKD.
The share, however, is higher than the global prevalence among the general population (11-13 per cent) and that in Sub-Saharan Africa among the general population (13.9 per cent).
The incidence of CKD in sub-Saharan Africa is rising faster than in any other region, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study.
Adding to this, the lack of reliable data on kidney disease prevalence, progression and outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa make it difficult to implement effective public health strategies, the authors of the report highlighted.