AfricaPress-Tanzania: LIFESTYLE has been cited as a major cause of kidney complications in Dar es Salaam Region which is leading in the country with 1,234 people suffering from the disease.
In a written response, the Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children Ummy Mwalimu, told the National Assembly that Dar es Salaam Region was leading, followed by Arusha which has 563 patients, while the region that has the lowest number of people suffering from kidney complications is Simiyu with only 113 patients.
The minister was responding to a question posed by Special Seats MP, Mgeni Jadi Kadika (CUF) who expressed her dismay over the growing rate of kidney patients in the country, asking the ministry to disclose the regions that were leading in having many patients.
“Kidney complications are usually caused by non-communicable diseases according to the Community Base Survey that was conducted to assess prevalence of kidney diseases in 2013,’’ she said.
According to the minister, the survey was conducted in the northern zone of Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tanga and Morogoro, adding that another survey that was conducted in 2015 involving Coast and Dar es Salaam regions found out that 44per cent of the complications were caused by diabetes while blood pressure was causing the disease by 34 per cent.
“Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are caused by lifestyle habits like excessive drinking, tobacco consumption, consumption of table salt, poor nutrition and lack of exercises,’’ she noted.
Ms Mwalimu said that all those indicators were the major cause of blood pressure and diabetes which were the major causes of kidney complications.
The minister asked all Tanzanians to ensure that they continue with routine exercises so that they can prevent all non-communicable diseases which were leading to kidney complications.
