Service de médecine légale, du travail, de l’éthique et de la toxicologie, Faculté des sciences et technique de la santé, Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry, Guinea
Objective: Our study aimed to determine the frequency of Kidney Disease among artisanal gold miners in the urban commune of Siguiri.
Materials and methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study lasting six (6) months from July 11, 2020 to January 11, 2021. Our study focused on all artisanal gold miners of all ages, regardless of gender. nor from a country presenting an anomaly of the urinary sediment (hematuria, leukocyturia) and/or proteinuria, and/or a GFR ≤ 60ml/min.
Results: During our study, of the 250 miners who were screened, 26 presented with chronic kidney disease, a frequency of 10% against 224 non-sick, i.e. a frequency of 90%. The median age of the sick miners was 35.50 years with age extremes of 15 to 80 years; the male sex was the most represented with a sex ratio M/F of 1.88. The main risk factors were nephrotoxic drugs (51.85%), urinary tract infections (27.63%), hypertension (22.22%), and obesity (14.81%). The clinical signs were dominated by headaches (76.80%), physical asthenia (52.80%). The majority of artisanal miners had a creatinine clearance ≥ 90ml/min, i.e. 69.23% according to the MDRD formula.
Conclusion: early detection, appropriate care and a healthy lifestyle can reduce the occurrence of complications and the appearance of CKD in the final stage.