Mysterious disease sending young, healthy Texas workers into kidney failure

[rcjordan]

^{Not so mysterious....}

"The patients are largely undocumented laborers from Mexico and Central America working in construction, roofing and outdoor trades in extreme heat – jobs where water breaks are often limited"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/mysterious-disease-sending-young-healthy-110033839.html

[ergophobe]

I wonder if that's a common underlying condition that is widespread, but only manifests when workers don't get adequate fluids.

It sounds like some of the stories of rhabdo you hear about in ultrarunning.

Jeff Bezos has to drink too.
https://th3core.com/chat/index.php?topic=15056

[rcjordan]

>common underlying condition that is widespread

Yes, by race and/or ethnicity

"If you are of African, Hispanic, or Latino, Asian, or Native American descent, you are at higher risk for kidney disease."

Understanding kidney disease risks by race and ethnicity
https://www.kidneyfund.org/all-about-kidneys/risk-factors/understanding-kidney-disease-risks-race-and-ethnicity

<+>
IIRC, aboriginal people drew the short straw and have the lowest number of nephrons.

[ergophobe]

Interesting.

Maybe evolving in environments with more toxins pushed some regions to have humans with more nephrons?

[rcjordan]

Should race affect BMI guidelines? Doctors are split : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/14/nx-s1-5818478/health-body-medicine-doctor-fat-race

This race question also applies to kidney failure / dialysis guidelines. Back 4-5 years ago, there was a great uproar about racial discrimination in determining when to begin dialysis.
^{The Racial Inequities of Kidney Disease | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School of Public Health
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2020/the-racial-inequities-of-kidney-disease}

The result (roughly) was to make treatments equal due to public outcry. The problem was that biologically kidneys differ by race.

[ergophobe]

That reminds me of the updated sunscreen guidelines for Australia based on skin color. https://www.australianpharmacist.com.au/sun-safety-guidelines-now-based-on-skin-type/

A very dark-skinned person following the old guidelines could easily become Vitamin-D deficient while massively over-protecting against cancer. So the old guidelines based on protecting those most vulnerable to cancer was creating a bit of a health crisis for those who were most vulnerable to Vitamin D deficiency.

> BMI guidelines

BMI is one of those measures whose chief virtue is that it is easy to measure and as a gross screening tool. But it ultimately confounds a world-class natural bodybuilder with an obese person and a world-class marathoner with an anorexic. Over my life, my percentage bodyfat has varied far far more than my weight. My highest weight did indeed correspond with my highest fat, but my second highest weight ever corresponded with my lowest fat.