Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding chronic kidney disease in at-risk individuals: A hospital-based cross-sectional study

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health problem, with a worldwide prevalence of around 9.1 per cent (as of 2017). In India, its prevalence was found to be around 17.2%. There are several risk factors of CKD, out of which the presence of underlying longstanding uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension are common. Certain previous studies have tried to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of such a 'high risk' group for developing CKD but there is a paucity of literature on it. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess these domains in individuals at risk for developing CKD. Patients and Methods: It is an observational cross-sectional study conducted from October 2020 to December 2021 at a tertiary care teaching and referral hospital in India. A total of 215 patients who were at risk of developing CKD, were enrolled and were given a CKD Screening Index questionnaire to fill and scoring was done for all three components-knowledge, attitudes and practices. Results: The mean age was found to be 49.21 ± 13.49 years with a male: female ratio of 1.4:1. Nearly three-a fourth of the patients were having DM while one-fourth of the participants had a previous history of hypertension. The mean scores on the knowledge, attitude and practices scales were found to be 11.80 ± 5.31, 50.18 ± 8.23 and 30.83 ± 7.53 respectively. The study results revealed that the majority of patients had 'low' levels of knowledge scores but 'average' levels of attitude and practice scores. A significant correlation was found amongst knowledge and attitude scores (r = 0.226, P = 0.001), knowledge and practice scores (r = 0.153, P = 0.025) and practice and attitude scores (r = 0.295, P = 0.000) of our patients. Conclusion: There is a need of improving awareness at least amongst the population at risk of getting CKD. Improving knowledge would help in inculcating positive attitudes and healthier practices amongst these, thus delaying the onset of this disease.