Need to tackle kidney chronic disease

A report by the Health authorities here has called for better detection and earlier treatment to help tackle chronic kidney disease. The study commissioned by the state-funded the National Health Service (NHS) Kidney Care says it causes up to 45,000 premature deaths each year in the UK, more than lung and breast cancer combined. An improved approach could help many people to lead better lives and save the NHS money, it adds. The report says 1.8m people in England have been diagnosed, but suggests there are one million undetected cases. The disease, also known as CKD, is where the kidneys become less effective at filtering waste products from blood. The study has been published in the journal "Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation" and its findings are drawn from NHS data and economic modelling based on clinical studies. The paper, "Chronic Kidney Disease in England: The Human and Financial Cost", concludes that CKD costs the NHS in England more than 1.4 Billion pounds a year. The author, Marion Kerr, said better diagnosis and early treatment - particularly from GPs - could make a big difference. "Chronic kidney disease has a much greater impact on people's lives, and on NHS costs, than is generally recognised," she said.