Chorotega region chronic kidney disease in agricultural communities
The Chorotega CKDu Epidemiology Field Study
This project will follow 400 people with chronic kidney disease of unknown cause and 400 similar people without kidney disease in Costa Rica’s Chorotega region to learn what environmental, work, and family factors may lead to CKDu.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11403173 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, you will have clinical exams and blood and urine samples taken and be asked about your work, home environment, and medical history. The team will collect environmental and occupational samples and use modern exposure-measurement methods to link what people are exposed to with signs of kidney damage. The study includes a large case-control group plus smaller nested substudies, including family-based work to see if CKDu runs in families. Local nephrologists and researchers from the University of North Carolina and the University of Costa Rica will run the field site in Liberia, Guanacaste.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people who live in or near Liberia in the Chorotega (Guanacaste) region of Costa Rica who have evidence of CKDu or who are similar community members without CKD, including agricultural workers and their family members.
Not a fit: People who live far from the Chorotega region or who need immediate medical treatment for kidney failure should not expect direct clinical benefit from this observational study.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could reveal causes or key risk factors for CKDu and guide prevention and treatment efforts to reduce illness and premature death in the region.
How similar studies have performed: Prior field studies in Central America and other regions have suggested possible contributors (heat stress, dehydration, pesticides, metals) but no single cause has been proven, so this work builds on prior findings but remains exploratory.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Franceschini, Nora — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Franceschini, Nora
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.