Children facing risk of kidney damage

The growing rate of obesity among children in the UAE is contributing to hypertension in individuals as young as five to 10 years of age, medical specialists said in the capital yesterday.

And high blood pressure at such a young age leads to early kidney function impairment and renal failure.

In addition, parents also often make the mistake of letting children take highpower painkillers which also harm kidneys.

“Kidney damage, although not yet common among children in the UAE, is on the rise. And this is scary because it entails a very high financial toll on families, as well as frequent hospital admissions and resulting psychological impacts,” Dr Zubaida Al Esmaili, deputy chief executive officer at Abu Dhabi Health Services Company’s (Seha) Dialysis Services unit, told Gulf News .

“While there are genetic and developmental causes behind renal failure, perhaps the most worrying type is when children’s kidneys are affected due to unhealthy lifestyles and drug abuse,” she added, while speaking on the sidelines of a fetal and paediatric medicine conference, organised by King’s College Hospital Clinics in Abu Dhabi. The three-day conference is expected to see more than 300 medical professionals in attendance, and was inaugurated yesterday by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development.