Doctors are encouraging patients suffering with chronic kidney disease to make lifestyle changes to slow the progression of the condition. The kidneys are the human body’s filters of the blood. As the blood flows through them, they remove wastes and toxins which would otherwise build up. Chronic kidney disease occurs when one or both kidneys lose some or all their function. The buildup can result in organ damage and failure as well as the occurrence of other conditions such as diabetes.

These changes include education, goal setting, feedback, monitoring, and social support regarding their condition. Researchers looked at 4263 participants in 26 studies, using The Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy, v1, and the Health Behavior Change Wheel. They wanted to identify evaluate behavioral change techniques and functions in lifestyle which could help reduce the effects of or prevent chronic kidney disease.

Results showed 69 percent showed significant improvement. The most frequent method used was education, followed by enablement, training, persuasion, environmental restructuring, modeling and incentivization.

This study goes a long way toward confirming the importance of managing the detrimental emotional and mental effects of dealing with chronic kidney disease and how giving them the importance they deserve can lead to a much better outlook for kidney disease patients. If you’d like more information about some of the issues afflicting the CKD community, be sure to follow us on Twitter.