Prevalence and risk factors for proteinuria: T he N ational K idney F oundation of M alaysia L ifecheck H ealth S creening programme

Aim Treatment of chronic kidney disease ( CKD ) poses a huge burden to the healthcare system. To address the problem, the N ational K idney F oundation of M alaysia embarked on a programme to screen for proteinuria and educate the public on CKD . Methods The public was invited for health screening and the data collected over a 21 month period was analyzed. Results In total, 40 400 adults from all the states in M alaysia were screened. The screening population had a mean age of 41 years, 30.1% had hypertension and 10.6% had diabetes. Proteinuria was detected in 1.4% and haematuria in 8.9% of the participants. Factors associated with the highest risk for proteinuria were the presence of diabetes (adjusted odds ratio ( OR ) 2.63 (95% confidence interval ( CI) 2.16–3.21)), hypertension ( OR 2.49 (95% CI 2.03–3.07)) and cardiac disease ( OR 2.05 (95% CI 1.50–2.81)). Other risk factors identified were lower educational level, family history of kidney disease, hypercholesterolaemia, obesity and lack of regular exercise. C hinese had the lowest risk for proteinuria among the races ( OR 0.71 (95% CI 0.57–0.87) compared with M alays). The combination of high blood glucose and high blood pressure ( BP ) substantially increased the risk for proteinuria ( OR 38.1 for glucose ≥ 10 mmol/L and systolic BP  ≥ 180 mmHg and OR 47.9 for glucose ≥ 10 mmol/L and diastolic BP ≥ 110 mmHg). Conclusion The prevalence of proteinuria in M alaysia is similar to other countries. The major risk factors for proteinuria were diabetes, hypertension and cardiac disease. The presence of both high blood pressure and high blood glucose exert a synergistic effect in substantially increasing the risk for proteinuria.