By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHkidney 224.88(photo credit: Courtesy)
Of 122 people - cabinet ministers, MKs and staff - who underwent blood and urine screening for kidney disease and related disorders in the Knesset on Wednesday, three-quarters were found to be overweight, 28 percent had high blood pressure, 18% had protein in the urine and 2% had high glucose levels.
All of those with these positive findings were referred by doctors from the Israel Nephrology and Hypertension Society for follow-up.
World Kidney Day will be marked on Thursday.
A survey of the public carried out for the society by the Market Watch polling organization found a lot of ignorance about kidneys, with 40% not even knowing what these organs do, 53% not knowing where they are located in the body; 66% ignorant of the fact that high blood pressure increases the risk of kidney disease; and 64% unaware that a nephrologist is a kidney specialist.
Almost a third thought that hepatitis increased the danger of harm to the kidneys, when it is the liver that can be damaged by this infectious disease. The survey was conducted among 500 Jewish adults who comprised a representative sample.
The kidneys, which are the most important part of the urinary system, filter poisons, unnecessary salts and fluid from the bloodstream; help to control blood pressure; balance acidity in the blood; and produce vital hormones. Diseased kidneys can result not only from hypertension but also from untreated diabetes and genetic factors.
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