Prevalence of proteinuria in school children (aged 12-14 years) in Kashmir valley, India, using dipstick method

Abstract

Screening for kidney diseases by urinalysis in school children is being conducted in many parts of the world with inexpensive tools such as urinary dipsticks. We conducted this study to know the prevalence of asymptomatic proteinuria in school children (age group 12-14 years) in Kashmir valley as no previous study is available. After applying exclusion criteria, 2068 children were screened for proteinuria by dipstick method. Another test was performed in the children with abnormal findings in the first sample with dipstick of the same brand, after a period of one-month. These children were also assessed by timed urine collection (i.e., 24 h urinary protein). In the first dipstick test, the prevalence of proteinuria in the studied population was 6.2% which persisted in 2.17% after second dipstick examination. No child in the studied group was found to have glycosuria. In our study, no statistically significant association was found between proteinuria and gender, body mass index, or hypertension. In our study, the prevalence of persistent proteinuria in school children (age group 12-14 years) in Kashmir valley was almost similar to the studies conducted in different parts of the world.