HEALTH experts on Thursday urged the public to take advantage of free screening services aimed at preventing chronic kidney disease (CKD), in line with the celebration of World Kidney Day.
AstraZeneca, Mercury Drug, and Diabetes Philippines announced the expansion of their free screening program, which was launched in January this year.
The free services include blood pressure, random blood sugar, body mass index, and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) screening. The expansion now includes doctors present at the screening sites to help patients with treatment and recommendations every Sunday.
During the launch of the expansion in Mandaluyong City, Dr. Rey Rosales, treasurer of Diabetes Philippines, emphasized the importance of early screening.
Rosales said 58 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes “will develop chronic kidney disease."
"So if you were able to get your diabetes at an early stage, the longer that you have your diabetes, the higher the chance that you may get chronic kidney disease,” he said.
Early screening for CKD, often dubbed as a “silent disease,” is crucial since the symptoms appear only at advanced stages, he said.
He noted that 90 percent of CKD patients remain undiagnosed.
Rosales further explained the correlation between kidney health and heart health.
Fifty percent of patients with diabetes “will eventually also develop a heart condition we call heart failure. Because the two organs are interrelated,” he said.
He told The Manila Times that since the launch of its free screening program, over 2,000 patients have been tested.
The free screenings are available at select Mercury Drug branches, including Trinoma, Shangri-La Plaza, Pavilion Mall, and Noveleta, Cavite.
Rosales said the services will be expanded to include 50 more Mercury Drug branches.
