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Proteinuria screening for children
Mutsumi Murakami1, Mari Hayakawa, Tsuyoshi Yanagihara
1Department of Pediatrics, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. m-murakami@jcom.home.ne.jp
Insights
Japan's school urine screenings effectively detect early glomerulonephritis, reducing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in young individuals. This practice aids in managing kidney disease progression from childhood.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Public Health Screening
Background:
- Annual school urine screenings for proteinuria and hematuria are standard in Japan.
- The effectiveness of this widespread screening practice remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of urinary abnormalities in school children.
- To assess the effectiveness of the school urine-screening program in early disease detection and management.
Main Methods:
- Conducted school-based urine screenings.
- Analyzed the prevalence of urine abnormalities and disease incidence.
- Evaluated the impact of the screening program on disease outcomes.
Main Results:
- Prevalence of urinary abnormalities was 0.52% in elementary and 0.75% in junior high students.
- Incidence of urinary abnormalities was 0.24% in elementary students.
- The program effectively detects glomerulonephritis early, influencing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patient numbers.
Conclusions:
- The school urine-screening program is effective for early glomerulonephritis detection.
- Screening contributes to a rising age of ESRD onset and fewer new cases before age 20 in Japan.
- The program is a highly effective mass screening technique for kidney health.
Background:
In Japan, urine screenings are performed annually at school for proteinuria and hematuria, but the effectiveness of this practice has not been clarified.
Methods:
Urine screening at school was performed, and we investigated the prevalence of urine abnormalities and incidence and the causes of their diseases. Therefore, we studied effectiveness of the school-screening program.
Results:
The prevalence of urinary abnormalities was 0.52% among elementary school children and 0.75% among junior high school children. The incidence was 0.24% among elementary school children. The school-screening program is effective in early detection of glomerulonephritis, so the number of new end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients starting treatment has been changing.
Discussion:
The school-screening program is effective for early detection of glomerulonephritis. In case of generations who underwent the school-screening program, the age that one develops ESRD has been rising year by year, and the number of new ESRD patients starting treatment before 20 years old is lower in Japan than in America.
Conclusion:
The school-screening program in Japan represents a highly effective mass screening technique.
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