Diabetes is one of the main causes for end-stage kidney disease, when the patient needs dialysis. In the context of World Health Day marked on April 7, which in 2016 is held under the theme “Beating diabetes”, specialists in nephrology warn all the patients diagnosed with diabetes to monitor the work of kidneys, IPN reports, quoting specialists of the Chisinau Dialysis Center, which is one of the largest in Europe.
According to them, after a particular number of years the diabetics are exposed to the risk of developing diabetic nephropathy, which evolves swiftly and in a record time leads to chronic renal failure, when the person is subject to dialysis. From this moment, the person’s life depends on the dialysis machine.
“In 2016, each fourth new patient included in dialysis suffers from diabetes. Though we do not have studies depicting the situation, the number of persons who will benefit from the artificial substitution of the function of kidneys in 2020 can exceed 400. These persons, diabetics included in dialysis, need a complex treatment and have much lower chances of being subject to kidney transplant, at least in our country,” said Petru Cepoida, medical director of the Chisinau Dialysis Center that was opened within a public-private partnership project for dialysis services in the Republic of Moldova. The Center serves about 400 patients.
Currently, the diabetics represent 13% of all the patients who are dialyzed at the Dialysis Center, a threefold rise, from 3-4%, during the last three years.
According to the specialist, if there were more programs to prevent and early detect the complications of diabetes, the number of persons with diabetic nephropathy wouldn’t be so large. The diabetics are recommended to assess the function of kidneys at least annually as more than ¼ of these will inevitably develop renal insufficiency in 10-20 years, if they are not affected by other complications of diabetes. The mortality in the case of diabetes is alarmingly high – about 400 persons per year, according to the National Public Health Center.
To minimize the risk of complications, the persons with diabetes must treat the disease with maximum responsibility.
“Diabetes is not a disease, but a special lifestyle. The persons with diabetes must know very well their disease, as a driver must know the traffic rules,” said Luminita Suvieca, head of the Chisinau Public Health Center.
In 2014, there were about 84,000 diabetics in Moldova. In 2020 the figure is expected to rise to 130,000-140,000, with almost 8,000 new cases annually.
To modernize the health system and adjust the medical dialysis services to the European quality requirements, BB-Dializa, as a private partner that forms part of the German consortium B.BRAUN & BB-HÄMODIALYSE, transferred the experience of the European dialysis centers, making thus Moldova a country with modern dialysis services, said specialists of the Chisinau Dialysis Center.
