The global toll of chronic kidney disease (CKD) attributable to air pollution has reached more than 10 million each year, a new study revealed.
The study was presented by the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2017 October 31-November 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The researchers from Clinical Epidemiology Center at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System previously described an association between increased levels of fine particulate matter and risk of developing CKD, but then the investigators used the Global Burden of Disease study methodologies in the latest research to estimate the burden of CKD attributable to air pollution.
Results from the study suggests that the burden varies greatly by geography, with higher values seen in Central America and South Asia.
"Air pollution might at least partially explain the rise in incidence of CKD of unknown origin in many geographies around the world, and the rise in Mesoamerican nephropathy in Mexico and Central America," lead researcher Benjamin Bowe was quoted as saying in a news release.