A World Kidney Day fair was held in Taipei yesterday to raise public awareness about kidney health, as deaths related to kidney disease have become one of the top 10 causes of death in Taipei over the past two years.
The event, held by the Taipei City Department of Health and Taiwan Society of Nephrology at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi Plaza, saw medical personnel from 28 hospitals provide free health information and blood pressure readings.
World Kidney Day is an international awareness campaign that takes place on the second Thursday in March every year.
The department said that pyelonephritis (kidney inflammation), nephrotic syndrome and diabetic nephropathy were the seventh-highest causes of death in 2014.
A survey conducted by the central government’s Health Promotion Administration in 2007 showed that about one in 10 adults (aged more than 20) in Taiwan is likely to suffer from chronic kidney disease, it said, adding that people with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol or diabetes are 1.58 to 2.35 times more likely to develop kidney disease than unaffected people.
Health Promotion Division director Lin Meng-hui (林夢蕙) suggested that people protect their kidneys by paying attention to their daily habits and having blood pressure and blood sugar levels checked regularly so that kidney disease might be detected at an early stage, and to have regular check-up examinations if kidney disease is found.
Diabetes is one of the primary causes of kidney deterioration, so diabetics are encouraged to have urine microalbumin tests and retinal examinations regularly, she added.
The Taiwan Society of Nephrology said people can protect their kidneys by exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet, maintaining a normal body weight, drinking more water, not smoking or over using drugs and by having regular health examinations.
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