BackgroundStudies have described Mesoamerican nephropathy among agricultural workers of El Salvador and northwestern Nicaragua. Data on prevalence and risk factors for CKD beyond agricultural workers and in other regions in Nicaragua are sparse.MethodsWe recruited participants from 32 randomly selected communities in the Department of Rivas’s ten municipalities in two phases. In phase 1, we screened participants using a field-based capillary creatinine measuring system and collected self-reported information on lifestyle and occupational, exposure, and health histories. Two years later, in phase 2, we enrolled 222 new participants, performing serum creatinine testing in these participants and confirmatory serum creatinine testing in phase 1 participants.ResultsWe enrolled 1242 of 1397 adults (89%) living in 533 households (median age 41 years; 43% male). We confirmed CKD (eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m2) in 53 of 1227 (4.3%) evaluable participants. In multivariable testing, risk factors for prevalent CKD included age (odds ratio [OR], 1.92; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.89 to 1.96) and self-reported history of hypertension (OR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.04 to 3.64), diabetes (OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 1.40 to 5.93), or current or past work in the sugarcane industry (OR 2.92; 95% CI, 1.36 to 6.27).ConclusionsAdjusted CKD prevalence was about 5% with repeat confirmatory testing in southwest Nicaragua, lower than in the northwest region. Risk factors included diabetes, hypertension, and current or prior work in the sugarcane industry but not in other forms of agricultural work. Formal CKD surveillance programs in Nicaragua are needed to assess the overall burden of CKD nationally, with a focus on agricultural workers.

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BackgroundA lack of advanced healthcare information systems and validated scientific cohorts in Nicaragua makes it difficult to estimate disease prevalences and other public health statistics. Although there is concern of an “epidemic” of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in this country, statistics regarding its magnitude are derived from only a small number of non-representative studies. Budgetary constraints and the logistical problems of maintaining a study cohort make longitudinal studies difficult. The Rivas Cohort was created to measure disease burden of CKD and other public health priorities in the Department of Rivas, Nicaragua. Using primarily volunteer research students and technologic innovation including GPS, digital photography and point of care biochemical analysis, the ability to establish a longitudinal chronic disease cohort is demonstrated.MethodsSubjects were recruited from consecutive adjacent households in thirty-two randomly selected communities in the ten municipalities that comprise the Department of Rivas in southern Pacific coastal Nicaragua. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, subjects were enrolled into the cohort and consented for future re-contact. In Phase II, conducted two years later, attempts were made to re-contact 400 of these subjects for additional data collection. Demographic, lifestyle, occupational, exposure and health data was collected for both phases of the study. Blood and urine testing and height, weight and blood pressure measurements were also performed. GPS coordinates of homes were recorded and maps of remote communities created.ResultsOf 1397 adults living in 533 households approached for participation a total of 1242 (89 %) were enrolled in the cohort. The median age is 41 years and 43 % are male, demographics in agreement with Nicaraguan census data for the Department of Rivas. During Phase II we attempted to re-contact 400 subjects for a follow-up study of CKD. It was possible to re-contact 84 % of these participants and of those re-contacted 95 % agreed to participate in the follow-up study. Of subjects that were not successfully re-contacted the majority had either moved (32) or were not at home (22) at the time of the study team visits.ConclusionThe Rivas Cohort Study enrolled a representative sample of 1242 adults living in the Department of Rivas, Nicaragua. The high re-contact and participation rates at two years suggests that the cohort is suitable for long-term studies and presents opportunities for investigations of disease prevalence, incidence, treatment and other public health matters. GPS coordinates and maps are available for future researchers who wish to use the cohort for additional studies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12882-016-0320-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.