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Ali Mansourian

Ali Mansourian

Professor

Ali Mansourian

An ecological study of chronic kidney disease in five Mesoamerican countries : associations with crop and heat

Author

  • Erik Hansson
  • Ali Mansourian
  • Mahdi Farnaghi
  • Max Petzold
  • Kristina Jakobsson

Summary, in English

BACKGROUND: Mesoamerica is severely affected by an epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of non-traditional origin (CKDnt), an epidemic with a marked variation within countries. We sought to describe the spatial distribution of CKDnt in Mesoamerica and examine area-level crop and climate risk factors.

METHODS: CKD mortality or hospital admissions data was available for five countries: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and linked to demographic, crop and climate data. Maps were developed using Bayesian spatial regression models. Regression models were used to analyze the association between area-level CKD burden and heat and cultivation of four crops: sugarcane, banana, rice and coffee.

RESULTS: There are regions within each of the five countries with elevated CKD burden. Municipalities in hot areas and much sugarcane cultivation had higher CKD burden, both compared to equally hot municipalities with lower intensity of sugarcane cultivation and to less hot areas with equally intense sugarcane cultivation, but associations with other crops at different intensity and heat levels were not consistent across countries.

CONCLUSION: Mapping routinely collected, already available data could be a first step to identify areas with high CKD burden. The finding of higher CKD burden in hot regions with intense sugarcane cultivation which was repeated in all five countries agree with individual-level studies identifying heavy physical labor in heat as a key CKDnt risk factor. In contrast, no associations between CKD burden and other crops were observed.

Department/s

  • Centre for Geographical Information Systems (GIS Centre)
  • Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science

Publishing year

2021-05-01

Language

English

Publication/Series

BMC Public Health

Volume

21

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

BioMed Central (BMC)

Topic

  • Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
  • Environmental Health and Occupational Health

Keywords

  • Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown origin (CKDu)
  • Mesoamerican countries
  • Associations with crop and heat
  • Ecological study

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1471-2458