Following up
Alberta-wide team unveils plan to combat chronic diseases
Story by Karen Thomas/Photos by Trudie Lee and Laughing Dog
A team of researchers have targeted blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, and vascular disease in their ambitious new research program aimed at improving the lives of people suffering from chronic disease. The Interdisciplinary Chronic Disease Collaboration (ICDC), funded through the Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS) Interdisciplinary Team Grant program and Alberta Health and Wellness, is led by Drs. Brenda Hemmelgarn, Braden Manns, and Marcello Tonelli.
The ICDC recently published a series of articles to help doctors identify people most at risk of kidney failure, heart attacks, hospitalization, and death. The researchers found that the current blood test that screens for kidney disease is not the most effective tool for diagnosis; instead, one of the articles recommends doctors use a simple urine test alongside the standard blood test to identify people at greatest risk of kidney failure. Another study by ICDC finds that people living away from major cities are less likely to be referred to kidney specialists and more likely to have poor outcomes from kidney disease.
“Our goal is to reduce the number of people with complete kidney failure requiring dialysis. We know that delaying or avoiding the need for dialysis saves the health system more than $100,000 per year,” explains Dr. Hemmelgarn. “More importantly, delaying dialysis has a huge impact on quality of life for people with kidney disease.”
“Chronic diseases—diabetes, kidney disease, high blood pressure and vascular disease—are the quiet epidemic of our time,” says Dr. Manns. “Our team has an ambitious plan to dig into the root causes of chronic disease, transform how we diagnose and treat people, but also help people to make their own changes toward better overall health.”