Chronic Kidney Disease

Background According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (2018), chronic kidney disease is one program that Environmental Health and Safety professionals are examining more closely to better understand how environment factors into the onset of the disease. Chronic kidney disease is characterized as the failure of the kidneys to filter waste and excess fluid from the blood (Mayo Clinic, 2018). Without the efficient use of the kidneys, the body’s stability and health are threatened.

Heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and anemia are all possible outcomes that an individual may experience as a result of kidney failure. As there are more than 200,000 cases of chronic kidney disease every year (Mayo Clinic, 2018), this is a serious problem that is deserving of study—especially as the etiology of chronic kidney disease is still somewhat unknown.

One project funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (2018) that focuses on understanding chronic kidney disease is a research study titled “Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Mesoamerican Nephropathy among Agricultural Workers in El Salvador, Central America.” The purpose of this program is to study how environmental factors impact the health of agricultural works in El Salvador, particularly how exposure to herbicides impact the kidneys.

This is a particularly important study because of the extent to which herbicides have become such a staple of the modern agricultural industry. If herbicides are an environmental threat to human health and safety, some form of regulation will be required to protect people from the flagrant use of these chemicals in agriculture. Importance of the Topic The topic is important because one in seven Americans is likely to be impacted by chronic kidney disease. Some 30 million Americans currently suffer from chronic kidney disease (American Kidney Fund, 2018).

These numbers indicate that this issue is incredibly important and deserves more attention from public health officials, who are, to a large extent, informed by the health literacy that is spread their way by environmental public professionals. They are the ones who can relay the facts of a disease to those who set policy and can make a difference in the lives of those in a community. Additionally, there are some known risk factors that pertain to chronic kidney disease: these include stress (hypertension), heart disease, diabetes and genetics.

These issues are, moreover, impacted by other variables—such as diet, exercise, smoking and so on. Still, many researchers believe there are external or environmental factors that could serve as risk factors in the spread of chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease commonly develops alongside diabetes and/or high blood pressures. Patients who suffer from either are at risk of also developing chronic kidney disease.

This is because high blood sugar can cause damage to the kidneys in the same way that a car exposed to wintery weather conditions is impacted by the salt that the city will dump on the road to control for ice. The car will be ruined if not properly cleaned and maintained, and the same goes for the body’s kidneys. To prevent chronic kidney disease the patient must first address the issues of diabetes and/or high blood pressure.

If there are external or environmental factors that are impairing the kidneys, these have to be addressed as well. Obesity is another factor in the progression of kidney disease, and obesity (like diabetes) can have environmental factors in its spread (such as living in a community where fast food chains are in abundance and pre-packaged, manufactured foods are a staple of everyone’s diet because of the convenience they afford and because of the rat race nature of the work the community is engaged in).

The reality is that an individual who suffers from chronic kidney disease is likely to suffer from stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, and a need to better regulate blood sugar (Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 2013). People who find themselves in these positions have to be really mindful of their environment and their own exposure to these risk factors because they are at risk of developing chronic kidney disease.

How the Program Impacts Public Health Practice The program as explained by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences impacts public health practice in numerous ways. First, it reveals the need to raise health education awareness via the communication of the known risk factors and the extent to which one’s environment can lead one into risky waters.

Second, it shows that there is a need for ongoing research into the disease to better understand how things like diet or herbicides or other environmental factors can impact one’s health and perhaps lead to the onset of chronic kidney disease. It is important information to know and understand because the kidneys are tasked with the all-important job of filtering out waste and water from the blood, which is flushed from the body in urine. The kidneys also help to maintain a proper chemical balance in the body.

However, when one’s diet puts excess strain on the kidneys, particularly when that diet is high in salty, fatty, sugary foods, the kidneys can become damaged over time. Because so many Americans are prone to living in an environment where convenience foods are so readily available—and because many Americans do not understand the connection between fast food, poor diet, bad health and, as is relevant here, the onset of chronic kidney disease, this lack of education puts them at risk and thus needs to be addressed.

The problem of diet is particularly troublesome for many American patients as many Americans consume a great deal of sugar, and this puts them at a higher risk for the diseases that can lead to chronic kidney disease as well (Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 2013).

There are also numerous other risk factors, such as family history, age, environment and ethnicity: African Americans, Native Americans and Asians are all at higher risk for suffering from chronic kidney disease, which is related to the genetic aspect of the disease but also to even still more questions about environmental factors, as each of these groups tends to be found in particular environments, where isolated variables need to be identified and studied in more detail.

How an Environmental Public Professional’s Point of View Can Help Improve the Health of Communities An environmental public professional’s point of view can help improve the health of communities because the professional is concerned about all aspects of the natural and manufactured environment.

Environmental public professionals are like public health officers: they know what is good and bad for people’s health and their job is to investigate matters (as the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is doing by researching the impact of herbicides on the health and kidneys of agricultural workers in El Salvador to better understand the relationship between chemicals used in the field and the health of the workers’ bodies).

As Donham and Thelin (2016) point out, environmental health professionals play a role in helping to prevent problems in the community. In this case, environmental health and safety professionals would be able to raise awareness about environmental factors that contribute to the risks of spreading chronic kidney disease—whether those risks stem from dangerous chemicals or from one’s exposure to poor diets. The point of view of the environmental public professional can be,.