• A research study invites people aged 18 to 45 from Carrillo, Liberia, Cañas, and Bagaces to participate and help understand a disease that often progresses without symptoms.

San José, September 2026. Non-traditional Chronic Kidney Disease (ntCKD) is a growing public health problem affecting various regions of the world, particularly tropical and subtropical areas.

It is a progressive disease that can cause irreversible deterioration of kidney function and lead to death; it has drawn the attention of the scientific community because it primarily affects people performing physical demanding work in tropical regions—individuals exposed to high temperatures and dehydration for long periods—although many questions regarding its causes remain.

While chronic kidney disease is typically associated with hypertension and diabetes in older adults, the non-traditional variant of this disease—known as CKDnt —frequently affects young, economically active individuals in the absence of diabetes and hypertension.

CKDnt represents a significant public health problem in Costa Rica, particularly in the province of Guanacaste, where mortality rates from chronic kidney disease have been documented to be far higher than in the rest of the country.

Faced with this reality, a group of national and international institutions is conducting a scientific study in Guanacaste, whose aims to gather more information to understand why some people develop this disease despite lacking risk factors such as diabetes or hypertension, with the goal of improving prevention methods.

The research is being conducted simultaneously in Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and India, under the direction and funding of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of United States (NIDDK), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the Fogarty International Center.

In each of the countries, the research is conducted in specific geographic areas where a higher number of cases have historically occurred.

In our country, the study is being conducted by two research sites; one of them comprises the University of Costa Rica (UCR), the Costa Rican Agency for Biomedical Research (a division of the INCIENSA Foundation), and the University of North Carolina (USA).

The study aims to follow a total of 3,600 people for more than three years. Of these, 800 will participate at our research site, with the objective of identifying the factors that contribute to the development and progression of this disease.

At the moment men and women between the ages of 18 and 45 living in the cantons of Carrillo, Liberia, Cañas, and Bagaces are invited to participate.

“Non-traditional chronic kidney disease (CKDnt) is a serious and potentially fatal condition that affects not only the health of those who suffer from it but also their families. The loss of the ability to work, healthcare costs, the need for care, and in the most severe cases, death; create a significant social and economic impact. Therefore, it is urgent to continue researching this disease to understand its causes, prevent its progression, and reduce the deaths it causes,” emphasizes Dr. Viviana Loría, a researcher of ACIB-FUNIN.

During the study, participants undergo 2 initial visits and are subsequently followed up every eight months. At each visit, they are interviewed about their health, hydration, occupation, and potential environmental exposures, and blood, in addition urine samples are collected. As part of the process, each participant receives the results of their kidney function tests and other health indicators, which also provides an opportunity for the early detection of potential abnormalities.

“This project borns from the need to identify the factors contributing to the onset and progression of the disease. We hope that exploring both biomedical and environmental factors, and tracking changes in kidney function over time, will allow us to generate new knowledge and have a positive impact on disease prevention,” points out Dr. Mariela Arias Hidalgo of the UCR, the study’s principal investigator.

Researchers highlight that the participation of the population is essential for generating scientific evidence to protect the health of the most vulnerable communities and guide future strategies for prevention, early diagnosis, and care regarding this disease in Costa Rica and other countries.