Screening for renal disease—what can be learned from the Okinawa experience

Abstract

There is an ongoing discussion in Europe on whether screening for renal disease is sensible and cost-effective, be it universal screening or targeted screening in specific segments of the general population. Of course, screening for renal disease makes sense, not only with respect to prevention or retardation of end-stage renal disease, but—quantitatively even more so—with respect to prevention of cardiovascular complications. Even when one considers the substantial demographic and biological differences between Okinawa islands and Western Europe, the unique data of the community-based screening programmes in Okinawa, covering more than 10% of the general population and continuing for more than two decades, are of substantial interest for Europeans, nephrologists as well as public health officials. They are a rich source of information on the benefits, but also the limitations, of screening programmes. It is for this reason that the editors of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (NDT) have asked Dr Iseki to share his findings with the readers of our journal, not least in the hope that political authorities recognize the immense value of such screening programmes.