Risk factors for chronic kidney disease among patients at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu, Nigeria: A retrospective cohort study

Background
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common and often goes undetected and undiagnosed until the disease is well advanced and kidney failure is imminent. It is estimated that approximately 36 million Nigerians suffer from different stages of CKD, and that 1 in 7 Nigerians has kidney disease.
Methods
This was a retrospective cohort study of 150 cases and 300 controls. Selection of subjects was by retrospective review of inpatient files, from 2010–2013, at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital. Data were analysed using chi-square at a 5% significance level.
Results
The majority of subjects were between 20 and 29 years of age. The mean (SD) age of the cases was 40.6 (14.4) and controls was 38.6 (15.8). Ninety (60%) of the cases and 212 (70.7%) of the controls were males (P = 0.023). Almost 87% of the cases and 42% of the controls reported ingesting herbal remedies. Use of bleaching substances was more prevalent among the cases (n = 20; 13.4%) compared with the controls (n = 2; 0.7%) (P = 0.001). Eight (5.3%) of the cases had a family history of CKD, compared to only 1 (0.3%) of the controls (P = 0.001). There were more cases (10.7%) with diabetes mellitus, compared to controls (2.7%) (P = 0.001). Significantly more cases had high blood pressure than controls (P < 0.001). Sixty-four percent of cases had a history of chronic analgesic use, compared to 10.3% of controls (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
CKD was mostly found among men of a productive age, who were either diabetic or hypertensive, with history of ingestion of herbal medications or concotions, and chronic use of analgesia. Individuals should engage in regular medical checkups and modify lifestyle factors, while governments and health care providers should increase awareness and campaigns on the causes and risk factors of CKD.