Reducing the burden of kidney disease
"Indigenous Australians comprise around two per cent of the Australian
population, however they constitute almost ten per cent of people
commencing dialysis for end-stage kidney disease."
In Australia, kidney disease causes or contributes to approximately one in ten deaths. The burden of disease among Aboriginal Australians is much heavier, with rates of end-stage kidney disease being up to thirty times more than the national average.
The ageing population and the global diabetes epidemic, along with high rates of hypertension, obesity and smoking are leading to significant increases in the number of people with chronic and end-stage kidney disease (where kidney function is less than 10% of normal). The number of people around the world receiving renal replacement therapy (as maintenance dialysis or a kidney transplant) is currently estimated at 1.4 million, and projected to at least double in the next decade.
Focusing on treatments and prevention strategies for kidney disease, the Renal Division at The George Institute plays an important role in tackling the rise of this chronic disease across Australia and the region. Renal experts at the Institute have a strong focus on improving equity in access to health care for people with kidney disease. Renal health in Indigenous communities is also a high priority of the Division’s work.
The Renal Division is currently working with the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group, looking at the effect of different doses of dialysis in patients with severe, acute kidney failure in the intensive care unit. This project aims to reduce the very high death rates caused by acute renal failure, which currently claims 1,800 lives each year.
Indigenous Australians comprise around two per cent of the Australian population, however they constitute almost ten per cent of people commencing dialysis for end-stage kidney disease. Researchers at the George are also investigating barriers to Indigenous Australians’ accessing renal transplantation, and will propose strategies to reduce disparities in Indigenous Australians’ access to renal transplantation.
Working in collaboration is an essential part of the Renal Division’s research. Currently, the team collaborates with networks of Australian, New Zealand, Malaysian, Thai and Chinese nephrologists; Indigenous researchers, communities, and health services; bureaucrats and health policy makers to improve health systems for necessary care.