Pune: Between 2018 and 2023, deaths due to kidney failures doubled across Maharashtra, going up from 5,000 to 10,000 per year, health department data shows. In fact, within a single-year period, between 2022 and 2023, these deaths jumped 40%, showing just how alarmingly prevalent renal failure has become in the state. The data was analysed and verified by Maharashtra health department's Bureau of Health Intelligence Vital Statistics (SBHIVS).
"These are not deaths where kidney failure likely had a role. These are deaths which were the direct result of kidney failure," said Dr Rajratna Waghmare, deputy director of health services at SBHIVS, Pune. "So as per our trend analysis, we have essentially witnessed a rise in deaths that can be directly attributed to non-communicable diseases," he added.
Of the 10,127 people who died of renal failure in 2023 in the state, 70% of them, or 7,051, were men. Experts said the key reasons for this increase in renal failure deaths were the rise in non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and lack of access to dialysis or kidney transplants. A deeper study of the data also revealed that those aged 45 or above were particularly at risk of renal failure.
Of the 10,127 deaths, 1,753 were in the 45-54 age group; 2,398 were in the 55-64 group; 1,619 in the 65-74 group; and 2,466 in the 70-plus age group. Dr Sanjay Munde, in charge of the nephrology unit at Sassoon General Hospital, said admissions data has shown for some time that chronic kidney d.
