Twenty-five facts about kidney disease in Singapore: in remembrance of World Kidney Day.

World Kidney Day is a joint initiative of the International Society of Nephrology and other nephrology organisations, which will be observed annually on the second Thursday of March throughout the world. Initiated in 2006, its purpose is to increase awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD), its associated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and to draw attention to the urgent global need for its early detection and prevention. On top of causing end stage kidney failure requiring renal replacement therapy with dialysis or transplantation, CKD is now known as a “disease multiplier,” because it contributes to cardiovascular deaths in patients with diabetes and hypertension.1 Table 1 has been put together, in remembrance of World Kidney Day 2007, to recognise the tremendous impact of kidney disease on healthcare in Singapore. As shown (Table 1), kidney disease and kidney failure are reaching pandemic proportions in Singapore. The increasing prevalence of diabetes and an ageing population with their increasing risk for hypertension are some factors that contribute to the increasing incidence of kidney disease. Indeed, the effects of these factors are only likely to increase. By the year 2030, it is estimated that 14% to 15% of the adult Singaporean population will be diabetic.19 Whereas in the year 2000, 10.2% of the Singaporean population were age 65 and older, by 2030, this proportion will be18%.20,21 These trends are not unique to Singapore; the number of diabetics in the world is estimated to increase from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million by 2030, while worldwide the estimated number of persons age ≥65 years will grow from 420 million to 973 million. 22,23 What measures can be adopted to halt this pandemic of kidney disease? One of the goals of World Kidney Day is to increase public awareness of this silent disease. It is hoped that prefacing this article with the stark facts of kidney disease in Singapore will stimulate healthcare professionals to adopt best practices to reduce the incidence of kidney failure and minimise its morbidity and mortality. However, the efforts must not be restricted to the individual healthcare professional or patient. National healthcare systems must be involved in altering the course of this pandemic. There are several examples of nationwide kidney disease screening and treatment programmes that have taken off elsewhere over the last few years, many of which are already reducing kidney disease.24,25 Key features of these programmes include: (1) screening for conditions Twenty-five Facts about Kidney Disease in Singapore: In Remembrance of World Kidney Day A Vathsala,1MD (USA), FRCP (Edin), FAMS Editorial