Prevalence, risk-inducing lifestyle, and perceived susceptibility to kidney diseases by gender among Nigerians residents in South Western Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Kidney disease (KD) is increasingly recognized as a major public health problem worldwide with rising incidence and prevalence. Early identification of KD risk factors will slow down progression to kidney failure and death. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence, risk-inducing lifestyle and perceived susceptibility among Nigerians in South-western Nigeria. METHODS: A pretested structured questionnaire was employed to draw information on socio-demographic, knowledge, risk-inducing lifestyle and perceived susceptibility to conventional risk factors of KD from 1757 residents aged ≥15 years. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 47.61±13.0 years with a male-female ratio of 1.13:1. Knowledge of KD was low (mean score 2.29; 95% CI: 2.18, 2.32). The prevalence of some established KD risk factors was regular use of herbal medications, 26.8% and physical inactivity, 70.0%. Females with factors such as use of herbal drink [RRR: 1.56; CI=1.06–2.30; p=0.02] and smoking [RRR: 2.72; CI=1.37–5.37; p=0.00] predicted increased odds of perceived susceptibility to KD than their male counterparts. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of KD risk-inducing lifestyles was high. More emphasis should be placed on effective public health programmes towards behavioural change in order to adopt lifestyle modification as well as to reduce the tendency to develop KD.