05 May MEDICC Review Journal Devotes Special Issue to Chronic Kidney Disease
Epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of Uncertain Causes Hits Agricultural Communities around the World
Oakland, CA May 2, 2014 — With a special issue—Chronic Kidney Disease Hits Agricultural Communities—MEDICC Review becomes the first peer-reviewed journal to devote an entire issue to this epidemic. In the past two decades, deaths from chronic kidney disease (CKD) have risen so rapidly that CKD now represents the third highest rate of increase among the top causes of death, after HIV/AIDS and diabetes. An emerging type of CKD of uncertain causes (CKDu), not attributable to risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension, has hit poor agricultural communities hard. It has particularly targeted younger male farm laborers in places as far apart as El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Egypt and India. The latest issue of MEDICC Review contributes to the scientific dialogue by presenting the newest research on the possible causes and public health implications of—as well as strategies for tackling—this epidemic.
“This devastating epidemic demands attention from all of us,” stated Guest Editor Dr. Wendy Hoy, Director, Centre for Chronic Diseases, The University of Queensland School of Medicine, Australia, a leader in the field whose research focuses on chronic kidney disease in Aboriginal and other vulnerable populations.
“The urgency of this public health crisis has received attention at the highest levels, withthe San Salvador Declaration from the 2013 Council of Ministers of Health of Central 
America and the Dominican Republic, a strong resolution from PAHO’s Executive Committee and growing commitment from the International Society of Nephrology,” said C. William Keck MD MPH FACPM, Editor-in-Chief, MEDICC Review. “It will take the combined efforts of researchers, governments, health ministries, international agencies, healthcare providers, community organizations, labor and industry to determine and address the root causes of CKDu and to prevent further fatalities.”
“Chronic Kidney Disease Hits Agricultural Communities” features articles on the global reach of CKDu and its epidemiological challenges, as well as the role of nontraditional risk factors and social determinants, from researchers from five countries: Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cuba and the USA, including:
- Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology in Agricultural Communities
- Clinical Characteristics of Chronic Kidney Disease of Nontraditional Causes in Salvadoran Farming Communities, 2012
- Update on Uncertain Etiology of Chronic Kidney Disease in Sri Lanka’s North-Central Dry Zone
- International Society of Nephrology’s Perspective on the Emergence of Chronic Kidney Diseases of Unknown/Undetermined Etiology
- Chronic Kidney Disease in our Farming Communities: Implications of an Epidemic
An online supplement “Research & Perspectives on CKDu in International Journals” provides abstracts of research related to the disease published to date in peer-reviewed journals.
The only English-language journal focusing on health and medicine in Cuba and other developing countries, MEDICC Review is an open-access peer-reviewed publication of Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC), Oakland, California, USA.
Readers from over 100 countries freely view and download full-text articles at http://www.medicc.org/mediccreview. Articles can also be accessed through PubMed and other indexing services.
Since 1997, MEDICC has worked to enhance cooperation among the US, Cuban and global health communities aimed at better health outcomes and equity. MEDICC produced the feature film ¡Salud! and publishes the MEDLINE-indexed journal MEDICC Review. MEDICC supports research in Cuba by US health professionals, assists US students and graduates of Havana’s Latin American Medical School to return to US underserved communities, and organizes Community Partnerships for Health Equity to improve health care and access in communities such as South Los Angeles and Oakland, California; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and The Bronx, New York. See: www.medicc.org