Kidney diseases among children have been on the rise in the past few years, and parents need to be watchful of their children's eating habits to protect them, according to doctors.
There are more than 2,700 patients with kidney failure in the Sultanate of Oman awaiting donors, while many others are waitlisted for a liver transplant. This number of cases among adults is again a matter of concern, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).
In a study by Dr Mohammed al Riyami and Maryam al Shehi, it is revealed that the most common aetiology of CKD found was congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) in 110 children (52.9 per cent) of whom 59 patients (28 per cent) had obstructive uropathy followed by renal dysplasia/hypoplasia in 29 children (14 per cent).
According to Dr Neven bint Ibrahim al Kalbaniyah, Head of Organ Transplant Department at the Royal Hospital and Vice-President of Omani Association for Organ Transplantation, an awareness campaign needs to be done in the community as the cases tend to rise.
"The number of registered people has increased and we would like to start awareness campaigns in cooperation with the National Programme for Regulating Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues and the Omani Association for Organ Transplantation'', she said at the launch of an App called 'Shifa' which streamlines patients needing organ transplant.
The Sultanate of Oman has carried out 330 organ transplant procedures since the beginning of the programme in 1988, of which 317 were kidney transplants and 13 liver transplants.
The first liver transplantation programme since it began in 2017 at the Royal Hospital was performed on October 24, 2021, on a five-year-old child.
"Three hundred kidney transplants were conducted from living related donors and 17 from brain-dead donors'', said Dr Neven.
RENAL FAILURE
Approximately 2,500 patients have a renal failure on haemodialysis and 200 patients on proton dialysis. Fifty children under the age of 13 are on one of either type of dialysis.
"Eating junk and fatty food very frequently can cause damage to kidneys and can affect the person in many ways'', says Dilip Singhvi, a specialist in internal medicine and diabetes at a private hospital.
What happens mostly among children is the accumulation of sugar in the blood which can trigger type 2 diabetes, cause kidney damage and the like, according to the studies.
The excess calories that cause rise and fluctuations in blood sugar levels affect the kidneys' handling of sugar, which is a process called reabsorption of glucose by the kidneys.
This can indirectly cause obesity, heart disease, digestive problems and others. The problem compounds in children as they are fond of junk and fatty food, colas, which contain much-processed sugar and empty calories, resulting in obesity, diabetes and kidney problem besides other issues.
"Young children who consume a diet high in salt, sugar and fat are more likely to experience anxiety, depression and mood swings than children who eat healthy foods'', says Dr Viresh Chopra of Oman Dental College (ODC).
"Children who eat junk food are at risk of developing depression even without obesity. Depression affects growth and development parameters, academic performance and social relationships. It also results in a higher risk of suicide'', he added.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
It is of paramount importance that we parents and teachers restrict our children from consuming too frequent junk or unhealthy meals and help them have nutritional diets and sidelining the junk food to once in a while.
Medical experts further advise eliminating packaged and processed snack foods from the kitchen and home.
"Do not purchase junk food such as chips, crackers, soda, candy and frozen pizza and pastry snacks. Removing unhealthy but convenient junk food options will help you and your children make better food choices. Instead, motivate the child to play sports regularly and direct him towards healthy eating'', adds the doctor.
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