Risk Factors Associated with Chronic Kidney Disease in the Department of Chalatenango, 2023

Abstract

Introduction. In El Salvador, chronic kidney disease affects an important group of economically productive population, being the department of Chalatenango especially vulnerable due to multiple risk factors, such as its prevalence of non-communicable diseases, agricultural activities and occupational exposures. Objective. To determine the risk factors associated with chronic kidney disease in the population over 20 years of age in the department of Chalatenango. Methodology. It is a matched case-control study, 174 persons participated, 58 cases and 116 controls. People from the department of Chalatenango were included and two controls were matched for each case. Results. Of the cases, 63.8 % were men and the
mean age was 59.3 years. A significant association was found between the disease and various risk factors, such as harmful alcohol consumption (OR 32.25 CI95 % 1.1-942.19), not exercising (OR 18.30 CI95 % 2.74-49.39), being an agricultural worker (OR 17.03 CI95 % 1.43-204.27), recurrent urinary tract infection (OR 16.07 CI95 % 2-128.99), inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables (OR 11.65 CI95 % 2.74-49.4), high blood pressure (OR 7.57 CI95 % 1.74-32.88), exposure to pesticides (OR 6.79 CI95 % 1.1-41.88) and diabetes mellitus (OR 6.38 CI95 % 1.47-27.71), with a p value < 0.05. Conclusion. The study identified multiple traditional risk factors, such as hypertension and diabetes, along with non-traditional factors such as exposure to pesticide, alcohol consumption and lack of exercise.