African Americans and Kidney Disease Fact Sheet

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Kidney Disease in African Americans

• African Americans are nearly four times more likely than Caucasians to develop kidney failure,¹ which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.

• An NKDEP survey of African Americans found that only eight percent named kidney disease as a consequence of high blood pressure, and only 17 percent named kidney disease as a consequence of diabetes. Of those surveyed who had high blood pressure and diabetes, only 10 percent and 29 percent, respectively, identified kidney disease as a negative consequence of not treating their conditions.²

• African Americans make up about 12 percent of the population but account for 32 percent of people with kidney failure.¹

• Among new patients whose kidney failure was caused by high blood pressure, more than half (51.2 percent) are African-American.¹

• Among new patients whose kidney failure was caused by diabetes, almost one third (31.3 percent) are African-American.¹

• African-American men ages 20 to 29 are 10 times more likely to develop kidney failure due to high blood pressure than Caucasian men in the same age group. African-American men ages 30 to 39 are about 14 times more likely to develop kidney failure due to high blood pressure than Caucasian men in the same age group.¹

Kidney Disease in the United States

• Approximately 20 million Americans have kidney disease.³

• Early kidney disease has no symptoms. If left undetected, it can progress to kidney failure with little or no warning.

• By the end of 2003, more than 128,000 people were living with a kidney transplant, and almost 325,000 were on dialysis – a number that has nearly tripled since 1988.¹

• Public and private spending to treat patients with kidney failure in the United States in 2003 was $27.3 billion,¹ up from around $22 billion in 2001.

• The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure, together accounting for about 70 percent of new cases.¹

• By 2030, more than 2 million people will be receiving treatment for kidney failure.⁴

• Kidney disease can be effectively treated if detected early. ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors^5,6,7,8 or ARBs^9,10 (angiotensin receptor blockers) can prevent or slow progression of kidney disease to kidney failure.

1. U.S. Renal Data System (2005). National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD.
2. National Kidney Disease Education Program. NKDEP Survey of African-American Adults' Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Kidney Disease. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2003. (Unpublished study)
3. U.S. Renal Data System (2004). National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD.
4. Gilbertson D, Solid C, Xue JL, Collins AJ. Projecting the U.S. ESRD population to 2030. Presented at 2003 ASN Annual Meeting. Available at: www.usrds.org/2003/pres/html/ 5U_ASN_projections_files/frame.htm. Posted November 2003. Accessed April 3, 2006.
5. Giatras I, Lau J, Levey AS, Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyme Inhibition and Progressive Renal Disease Study Group. Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors on the progression of nondiabetic renal disease: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1997;127(5):337-345.
6. Jafar TH, Schmid CH, Landa M, Giatras I, Toto R, Remuzzi G, Maschio G, Brenner BM, Kamper A, Zucchelli P, Becker G, Himmelmann A, Bannister K, Landais P, Shahinfar S, de Jong PE, de Zeeuw D, Lau J, Levey AS. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and progression of nondiabetic renal disease: a meta-analysis of patient-level data. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2001;135(2):73-87.
7. Kshirsagar AV, Joy MS, Hogan SL, Falk RJ, Colindres RE. Effect of ACE inhibitors in diabetic and nondiabetic chronic renal disease: a systematic overview of randomized placebo-controlled trials. American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 2000;35(4):695-707.
8. Wright JT Jr, Bakris G, Greene T, Agodoa LY, Appel LJ, Charleston J, Cheek D, Douglas- Baltimore JG, Gassman J, Glassock R, Hebert L, Jamerson K, Lewis J, Phillips RA, Toto RD, Middleton JP, Rostand SG, African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension Study Group. Effect of blood pressure lowering and antihypertensive drug class on progression of hypertensive kidney disease: results from the AASK trial. JAMA. 2002;288(19):2421-2431.
9. Lewis EJ, Hunsicker LG, Clarke WR, Berl T, Pohl MA, Lewis JB, Ritz E, Atkins RC, Rohde R, Raz I. Renoprotective effect of the angiotensin-receptor antagonist irbesartan in patients with nephropathy due to type 2 diabetes. New England Journal of Medicine. 2001;345(12):851-860.
10. Brenner BM, Cooper ME, de Zeeuw D, Keane WF, Mitch WE, Parving HH, Remuzzi G, Snapinn SM, Zhang Z, Shahinfar S, RENAAL Study Investigators. Effects of losartan on renal and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and nephropathy. New England Journal of Medicine. 2001;345(12):861-869.