Why Early Screening Is Key In Tackling Kidney Disease In Ghana And Africa - UG Medical Expert shares

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]showed an unequal distribution among the ethnic groups in Ghana and with the Akans having a higher proportion of the high-risk variants of the APOL1 compared to the Ghanaians in the areas.

[00:00:16]We found a similar ethnic disparity in Nigeria where the Igbos were more likely to have the high-risk variants of the gene compared to the Yorubas and the Fulanis.

[00:00:31]The explanation for these disparities is not clear to us.

[00:00:36]But what we understand is that this gene seems to be explaining the excess risk of kidney disease among the young people who are African in our part of the world. And therefore, there's a need for us to look at these high-risk groups and look for people who may have the two risk variants who may be at risk of developing kidney disease or perhaps who may already have kidney disease and provide a tailor-made patient treatment that can improve the outcomes of care. Especially when drugs become available that can block this gene, it will be good for these particular populations that are at high risk of getting this gene-related kidney disease.