One in every 20 agricultural workers in Tamil Nadu could be having chronic kidney disease (CKD), with every other affected individual possibly having CKDu (chronic kidney disease with an unknown cause) -- a type known to affect mainly agricultural workers, a study published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal has estimated.

The study points to factors associated with chronic kidney disease, including an increased age, diabetes, hypertension, anaemia and duration in a week spent working outdoors.