Introduction:
Around four million Nepalese, mostly young adult, has sought for employment in foreign countries in the last decades. An increased occurrence of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) without comorbidities has been observed among Nepalese workers returning from the Gulf countries and Malaysia. We aim to study the workplace environmental factors and demographic profile of migrant workers diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) under haemodialysis to identify possible contributing factors to their ESRD.
Methods:
This is an observational, cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among the migrant workers undergoing haemodialysis services at a tertiary health care centre in eastern Nepal. The questionnaire interview was taken by investigators during their hospital visit for haemodialysis. Quantitative variables have been described using median and interquartile range and the qualitative variables have been described using frequency and percentages.
Results:
Median age of the participants (N=53) was 44 years (34-54 years). Median age at diagnosis of CKD among migrant workers was 40 years (31-52 years). 92.5% of the participants were male. 88.67% had their health checkup before going abroad. 9.4 % of the participants had comorbidities like systemic hypertension, bilateral renal stones and Hepatitis C virus infection before going abroad. The participants worked in the countries like Saudi Arab (24.5%), Dubai (22.6%), Malaysia (20.75%), Quatar (9.4%), Iraq (7.5%), Kuwait (5.6%) and others (9.65%). 4% had the health insurance service. 28.3% participants were under regular health checkup at least annually. 63% of the participants were involved in manual work and it was mostly indoor (64%). Annual income of the migrant workers was 1,488 USD. Median duration of stay as a migrant worker was 7 years (5-11.5 years). 75.5% participants gave the history of some form of chemicals exposure on their work place. They worked for median duration of 72 (63-84) hours a week. They used to consume 2.5 litres (1.5-2.5 L) of water and had 5.5 (5-6.25) hours of sleep per day. 53% participants gave history of daily meat consumption. 64.15% participants were diagnosed as end stage renal disease at diagnosis. 88.7% patients were diagnosed with CKD after they developed symptoms. 43.4% participants had to return to Nepal because of kidney disease.
Conclusions:
Migrant workers are found to have end stage renal disease at a younger age. Migrant returnees under haemodialysis are mostly from gulf countries. They are found to have exposed to long working hours, higher risk of chemical exposures, inadequate water intake, excessive consumption of meat and meat products. Addressing these issues through policy advocacy for better working environment, lifestyle and dietary guidance, and regular health check-ups may help reduce kidney disease among migrant workers.
I have no potential conflict of interest to disclose.
I did not use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.