Three diseases pushing Kenyans to see their doctors

A small number of diseases are responsible for the vast majority of visits to health care facilities, a review of heath data by Nation Newsplex has revealed.

Incidentally, the same diseases that afflict children also afflict adults.

In many counties, most outpatient visits are due to respiratory diseases other than tuberculosis and pneumonia. Malaria is second while diarrhoea and skin diseases are third and fourth respectively.

Skin diseases include wounds. Pneumonia completes the list of top five causes of hospital visits.

There are also interesting findings about the concentration of diseases in certain counties.

Among those aged five years and above, Murang’a County recorded the most outpatient visits due to hypertension, while Kilifi recorded the most visits due to anaemia.

HOSPITAL VISITS

In children under five years, Bomet recorded the most visits due to mumps, while Uasin Gishu had the most visits due to malnutrition.

In 2015, Kenyans made more than 60 million visits to hospitals and health centres.

Of these, 44 million were made by people aged five years and above while another 15.5 million were by children under five years.

Children under five made seven million outpatient hospital visits because of respiratory diseases other than tuberculosis and pneumonia.

These accounted for 46 per cent of outpatient visits in that age group.

Confirmed malaria accounted for 1.8 million (11 per cent) of outpatient visits, followed by diarrhoea at 1.6 million (10 per cent), and skin diseases including wounds at 1.1 million visits (seven per cent).

Others were suspected malaria (five per cent) and pneumonia (four per cent).

For older people, which means those aged five years and over, respiratory diseases other than tuberculosis and pneumonia accounted for 11.2 million visits or 25 per cent of all outpatient visits.

Confirmed malaria drove 3.7 million visits (eight per cent) while suspected malaria were responsible for 1.5 million visits (three per cent).

MAJOR DISEASES

Skin diseases including wounds accounted for 3.6 million visits (eight per cent) while diarrhoea (1.5 million visits) and pneumonia (889,886 visits) and drove three per cent and two per cent of outpatient respectively.

Outpatient visits are important because they serve as a first point of contact with the health care system.

For children under five years old, eye and ear infections and intestinal worms were also among the top 10 conditions driving outpatient visits.

For people aged five years and older, arthritis and joint pains, urinary tract infections and hypertension were among top ten driver of hospital visits.
The data, which is contained in the 2016 Statistical Abstract, does not list cancer, which is the third biggest killer in Kenya, perhaps because it is rarely diagnosed during initial visits to health facilities.

In 42 out of 47 counties, the biggest driver of outpatient visits by children under five years are respiratory diseases other than pneumonia and tuberculosis.

RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS

Malaria tended to be the biggest driver in counties where it is endemic.

It was the top reason for hospital visits in Busia, Homa Bay, Siaya, Bungoma and Migori.

It was the second-largest driver of hospital visits in Kakamega, Kwale, Trans Nzoia, Kisumu and Vihiga, and the third largest driver in Kilifi, West Pokot, Turkana, Tharaka Nithi and Kisii.

Diarrhoea was the second largest driver of outpatient visits in 30 out of 47 counties and the third largest in another nine counties

Nairobi, being the largest population centre in Kenya, recorded the most outpatient visits for the largest range of diseases.

For example, for children under five years old, Nairobi recorded the most hospital visits for 23 out of the 44 diseases recorded, including all respiratory diseases, road traffic injuries, burns, chicken pox and dental disorders.

INTESTINAL WORMS

Kakamega had the most visits due to confirmed malaria for both children under five years (294,697 visits) and those five years and older (623,783).

Kisii on the other hand had the highest hospital visits for suspected malaria in both children and adults.

Meru County had the most outpatient visits of children under five for intestinal worms at 30,353, followed by Murang’a (26,902 visits) Kitui (16,991 visits) and Nairobi (14933) cases.

Kwale had the highest number of hospital visits for people suffering from bilharzia, in both children under five years old as well as older people.

MALNUTRITION

Despite sitting snugly in the country’s bread basket, Uasin Gishu recorded the highest number of visits by children aged under five years old for malnutrition, followed by Nairobi.

However, when it came to older people aged five years and above, most outpatient visits due to malnutrition were recorded in Nairobi, followed by Turkana and Mandera.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is mostly brought on by lifestyle and diet including increased weight, smoking, alcohol intake and consumption of large amounts of salt with food, according to the WHO.

Murang’a County recorded 77,834 outpatient visits due to hypertension in Kenya among people five years and older, the most in the country.

It was closely followed by Nairobi (70,740) and Kiambu (67,719), and Meru at 40,587.