Dutch researchers develop home test for kidney disease

Dutch researchers have developed a simple urine test to test kidney function at home and improve early detection of kidney disease. Symptoms of kidney failure often only show up when it is too late to do anything about it. “This is an important step towards population screening into kidney damage,” said study leader Ron Gansevoort, a professor of kidney diseases at University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG).

Untreated kidney damage can lead to kidney failure and cardiovascular disease. And most people only develop symptoms when their kidney function has dropped below 25 percent, which is far too late. About 1.7 million people in the Netherlands have chronic kidney damage. About 18,000 eventually need kidney dialysis or a transplant. Many eventually die of cardiovascular disease, according to UMCG.

Previous studies in Groningen and Noord-Brabant showed that too much protein in the urine signals kidney damage. Based on this, the researchers from UMCG and the Amphi Hospital in Breda developed a simple test in which participants collect urine in a tube at home and send it to a lab to get tested for high protein levels. The study was conducted in Breda, where the researchers asked 15,000 locals between 45 and 80 to do a urine test at home. Around 60 percent of contacted individuals participated in the study.

Researchers found excessive protein in 3.3 percent of the samples. These participants were called in for follow-up research. “In a substantial amount of these participants, abnormalities that had not yet been diagnosed were detected, such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, and reduced kidney function. Many of these are highly treatable,” the researchers said.

According to the researchers, the study shows that the test is effective both in results and costs and that Netherlands residents are willing to do it. The researchers are going to expand their study with the goal to see if it can be turned into a national population screening.