Doha: Researchers at the University of Washington, the University of Glasgow, and the Langone Medical Center in New York have revealed that the number of people suffering from kidney failure has more than doubled since 1999, rising from 378 million to approximately 788 million.

According to Qatar News Agency, the study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, indicates that this data suggests one in seven adults worldwide suffers from chronic kidney problems. This reflects the fact that chronic kidney disease has become a global health crisis and the ninth leading cause of death worldwide.

Researchers based their findings on data from the Global Burden of Disease study, which tracks health trends in 204 countries. The study focused on adults aged 20 and older between 1990 and 2023.

The study reported that in 2023 alone, there were 1.5 million deaths related to kidney disease, a 6% increase over the previous 30 years.

Dr. Joseph Korsch at the NYU Langone medical research center emphasized that the study reveals kidney disease is becoming increasingly common and deadly, and is worsening to the point of becoming a major public health problem.

Impaired kidney function affects the body's ability to eliminate toxic waste products. This health problem often remains asymptomatic until it reaches advanced stages, at which point the patient may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.