Peter Stenvinkel
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is on the rise. Since the 1990s, the number of CKD patients has more than doubled; today, nearly 15 per cent of adults worldwide live with the condition. They have permanent kidney damage, which can lead to high blood pressure, brittle bones and calcified arteries – all of which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Stenvinkel wanted to know where this increase was coming from. “It turns out that the effects of climate change, such as air pollution and longer periods of heat, make things worse. This also applies to the consumption of ultra-processed foods and the microplastics in what we eat. CKD is sometimes referred to as the ‘black lung’ [lung disease caused by inhaling coal dust] of climate change.”
Improving health and the environment
Stenvinkel argues that taking better care of the planet will benefit human health too. Take biodiversity loss: “Species are disappearing at a rate we haven’t seen since the five prehistoric mass extinctions, increasing the risk of pandemics. Monocultures in our livestock farms are ideal breeding grounds for new viruses. Declining soil fertility is making the crops we grow less nutritious. And we’re losing opportunities to expand our knowledge and discover the drugs of tomorrow. Approximately a third of current pharmaceuticals are derived from natural sources. How many potentially life-saving treatments might we miss because species became extinct before we could explore their therapeutic value?”
Or consider our food production system, which uses huge amounts of water and contributes significantly to CO2 emissions. “At the same time, the unhealthiest foods – like ultra-processed foods and red meat – cause the most environmental damage. So eating a more plant-based, unprocessed diet is a win-win for both our own health and that of the planet.”
Learning from bears
Stenvinkel believes we can learn a great deal from nature. For more than fifteen years, he has been exploring biomimicry, studying how nature solves certain challenges and whether those solutions can be applied to humans. “It all started with hibernating bears.” These animals barely eat, drink or move for months without it harming their bodies. “They seem immune to artery calcification, almost as if they have a natural vaccination. It would be incredible if we could translate that into a medicine for human use.”
And why do some animals live exceptionally long lives? Why are cats – both domestic and big cats – particularly prone to kidney disease? A research group that Stenvinkel is a part of, lead by Leon Schurgers, professor of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), has recently submitted a grant application to study more of these “animal models”. The two know each other from when Stenvinkel spent a year as a visiting professor at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), where Schurgers also works. “He was researching vitamin K. CKD is often associated with vitamin K deficiency, which increases the risk of artery calcification.”
Interdisciplinary
If funded, the study – expected to involve around ten PhD students – will likely fall under the new FHML institute Climate HEALTH, which examines health issues through the lens of climate change. Stenvinkel also plans to work together with veterinarians, biologists and ecologists and other disciplines, as he has in the past. “Tackling these kinds of complex problems requires communication across disciplines. Medical professionals have a lot to learn from other fields. This situation can’t be solved from one perspective alone. We need to connect the dots.”