NEW YORK --The National Kidney Foundation and Abbott's Ross Products Division have teamed up to develop education programs that will focus on nutrition in chronic kidney disease patients.
"Malnutrition is common in patients with chronic kidney disease," said Allan Collins, MD, NKF president. "Recent studies have shown that it is an issue even for patients who are not yet receiving dialysis treatment and that those who suffer malnutrition before dialysis have a greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Maintaining good nutritional status is critically important for all people with chronic kidney disease."
Ross products is a division of Abbott Laboratories and focuses on nutritional products for children and adults.
The joint partnership will be part of NKF's "Partners in Education Program," which will include feature print and online educational programs for patients and health care professionals. In addition, Abbott will be associated with NKF's Kidney Early Evaluation Program, which is a free screening for people at-risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
The NKF will develop all of the educational programs and will promote them through the organization's Kidney Learning System educational program. Abbott will promote the partnership by including the NKF's logo on the product labels of Nepro and Suplena, two nutritional supplements for kidney disease patients.
"Our company has a longstanding commitment to educating health care professionals and their patients about the important role nutrition plays in health maintenance and disease management," said Gary McCullough, president of Abbott's Ross Products Division. "We are pleased to be partners with the National Kidney Foundation for this nationwide initiative that will benefit people living with chronic kidney disease."
