Discover more on CKDu: review existing publications, positions, and policy papers below.
Send new research or advocacy publications to ckdu_observatory@theisn.org.
ISN publications on CKDu
This is an annotated bibliography created in 2018 and 2019 as an accompaniment to ISN publications:
General Review
- Johnson R. J., Wesseling C.., and Newman L. S., “Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Cause in Agricultural Communities“, The NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL of MEDICINE
- Mendley S. R., Levin A., Correa-Rotter R., Joubert B. R., Whelan E. A., Curwin B., H. Koritzinsky E. H., Gaughan D. M., Kimmel P. L., Anand S., Ordunez P., Reveiz L., Rohlman D. S., Scammell M. K., Wright
- R. O., Star R. A., “Chronic kidney diseases in agricultural communities: report from a workshop“, Kidney International (2019)
CKDu in India
- Chowdhary P, Rathore V, Jain K, Galhotra A, Verma N, Kale S A, Nagarkar N M, Jha V, “Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Origin in Supebeda, Chhattisgarh, India”; Kidney International Reports (2020)
CKDu in MesoAmerica
- Chapman, CL, Johnson BD, Parker MD, Hostler D, Pryor RR, Schlader Z., “Kidney physiology and pathophysiology during heat stress and the modification by exercise, dehydration, heat acclimation and aging”, Taylor & Francis online (2020)
- Correa-Rotter R., García-Trabanino R., “Mesoamerican Nephropathy“, Seminars in Nephrology (2019)
- Fischer, R.S.B., et al., “Clinical markers to predict progression from acute to chronic kidney disease in Mesoamerican nephropathy”, Kidney International (2018)
- Glaser J, Hansson E, Weiss I, et al., “Preventing kidney injury among sugarcane workers: promising evidence from enhanced workplace interventions“, Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2020)
- González-Quiroz M., Pearce N., Caplin B., Nitsch D., “What do epidemiological studies tell us about chronic kidney disease of undetermined cause in Meso-America? A systematic review and meta-analysis“, Clinical Kidney Journal (2018)
- Sanchez Polo V, Garcia-Trabanino R, Rodriguez G, Madero M., “Mesoamerican Nephropathy (MeN): What We Know so Far”, International journal of nephrology and renovascular disease (2020)
- Scammell M. K., Trust, “Conflict, and Engagement in Occupational Health: North American Epidemiologists Conduct Occupational Study in Communities Affected by Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Origin (CKDu)”, Current Environmental Health Reports (2019)
- Wesseling C, Glaser J, Rodríguez-Guzmán J, Weiss I, Lucas R, Peraza S, da Silva AS, Hansson E, Johnson RJ, Hogstedt C, Wegman DH, Jakobsson K., “Chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin in Mesoamerica: a disease primarily driven by occupational heat stress”, Rev Panam Salud Publica. (2020
CKDu in Sri Lanka
- Wijewickrama ES, Gunawardena N, Jayasinghe S, Herath C. “CKD of Unknown Etiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka: A Multilevel Clinical Case Definition for Surveillance and Epidemiological Studies”; Kidney International Reports (2019).
- World Health Organization, National Science Foundation, “Designing a step-wise approach to estimate the burden and to understand the etiology of CKDu in Sri Lanka”, Workshop Report (2016).
- World Health Organization, Country Office for Sri Lanka “International expert consultation on chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology”.
- Epidemiology Unit Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka, “Screening Guidelines Chronic Kidney Disease Sri Lanka” (2017).
Existing positions and policy papers
World Health Organization – Pan American Health Organization
“Chronic Kidney Disease in Agricultural Communities in Central America.”
ISN meetings on CKDu to date
- ASN 2016: First meeting of interested stakeholders
- WCN 2017: i3C group is created
- ASN 2017: Four subgroups meet: Detection, Molecular, Intervention, Awareness-raising
- 2018: NIH Meeting held
- WCN 2019: i3C group meets
- ASN 2019: i3C core group meets
A multi-disciplinary group of nephrologists, pathologists, epidemiologists, anthropologists, and occupational health experts attended the following meetings:
- ISN webinar on “Challenges and Opportunities for Interventions in CKDu” organized by the ISN i3C (International Consortium CKDu Collaborators) Network on February 17, 2022
- Digital activities on implementing a kidney biopsy program, including webinars, educational videos, and audio interviews on the ISN Academy. Discover here.
[ISN Sister Renal Center grant, Kandy Teaching Hospital, Kandy, Sri Lanka]
The ISN funds a sister center collaboration to expand the use of PD in endemic settings in Sri Lanka, leading to a dramatic increase in census and quality of delivered care[1]. This partnership developed an educational curriculum that is the most used PD curriculum on the ISN Academy website.
The burden and causes of CKDu are mostly unknown; additional multi-disciplinary research in the area is crucial. Groups worldwide are attempting to understand the condition more fully and may be working in parallel, unaware of ongoing studies.
As part of its Collaboration Plan with the World Health Organization, the ISN has committed to developing the ISN Observatory of CKDu to facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge to raise awareness of CKDu.
The i3C designed the platform to collect and provide an inventory of necessary information on current human studies in CKDu.
The data are obtained from researchers and shared on the ISN Observatory of CKDu to encourage further collaborations and exchange.