Central American Nephropathy Epidemic Linked to Occupational Exposure to Heat – ScienceDaily

In Nicaragua and El Salvador, there has been an increase in mortality for two decades due to an unusual form of chronic renal failure (CRD), also known as Mesoamerican Nephropathy (MeN). The disease has disproportionately affected sugar cane and other farm workers and does not appear to be linked to traditional risk factors for kidney disease such as diabetes.

Now, a new study by researchers at the Boston School of Public Health (BUSPH) and Nicaragua adds to the evidence that the epidemic of chronic kidney disease in the region is linked to occupational exposure to the heat.

The study, published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, found that 12.1% of a sample of craft brick makers in Nicaragua had a RCM, and that the disease was particularly common among people who worked with kilns for brick making.

"Local clinicians said that sugar cane workers were not the only people affected by this disease, despite the media attention they received, and brick factories told us that brick kiln workers were the most exposed, "says Madeleine Scammell, Associate Professor of Environmental Health at BUSPH and one of the two lead authors of the study. "It turned out that their observations were perfect."

The researchers collected data on 224 workers working in brick factories in La Paz Centro, a municipality in northwestern Nicaragua, in February and June 2016. This sample represented about 44% of the brick makers in La Paz Centro.

The brick factories were all between 18 and 60 years old, had been working in the brickyard for at least a year and were working for a maximum of two hours in the morning when the researchers had collected blood and urine samples to estimate renal function.

The researchers found that 12.1% of the brickmakers had a stage 3 to 5 CKD. The use of ovens, a less advanced education, advanced age and the presence of a close family member with CKD were all badociated with deterioration of renal function. The main risk factors for impaired renal function during the study period were the consumption of less than three liters of water per shift and a use of more than 48 hours per week.

Although the sample included only 32 women, these women were just as likely to work with ovens as men – but none of them had chronic kidney disease. The authors wrote that this could constitute an additional area of ​​study, just as the question of whether chronic kidney disease affects families because of genetic factors or because brick-making – such as agriculture and other industries in which chronic kidney disease is common – is itself a family.

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Material provided by Boston University School of Medicine. Original written by Michelle Samuels. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.