Kidney Disease Research Updates
Winter 2008

CKD Increases in United States, Most People with Condition Remain Unaware

An estimated 13 percent of the U.S. adult population—about 26 million people—have chronic kidney disease (CKD), although most are unaware of it, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The study, published in the November 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed and compared National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data on more than 15,000 adults aged 20 or older from 1988 to 1994 and more than 13,000 adults from 1999 to 2004. Twenty million people were estimated to have CKD in 1994.

“Increases in diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and the aging U.S. population explain at least some of the increase,” said Paul W. Eggers, Ph.D., a study co-author and director of kidney disease epidemiology at the NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). “We don’t know what may be responsible for the rest.”

Awareness Lacking

Although awareness of CKD is improving, most people with the condition still don’t know it, according to the study. Between 1999 and 2004, 11.6 percent of men and 5.5 percent of women with moderate, or stage 3, kidney disease knew they had CKD. Awareness increased to 22.8 percent among participants with stage 3 disease and increased albumin in the urine. Awareness was highest among people with severe, or stage 4, kidney disease, yet only 42 percent knew they had the condition.

“Kidney disease is often silent until late stages, but if we can find it early, we can do a lot to prevent kidney failure,” said Andrew S. Narva, M.D., F.A.C.P., director of the NIDDK’s National Kidney Disease Education Program. “If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of kidney problems, you are at risk and should be screened for kidney damage with routine blood and urine tests.”

CKD can lead to kidney failure—the loss of more than 85 percent of kidney function. The U.S. Renal Data System, which is funded by the NIDDK and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, estimates that by 2020, nearly 785,000 people will need kidney failure treatment in the form of dialysis or a kidney transplant at a collective cost of $53.6 billion.

To download an NIH radio interview about CKD with Drs. Narva and Eggers, go to www.nih.gov/news/radio/dec2007/122107kidney.htm. For more information about CKD, visit www.kidney.niddk.nih.gov.

NIH Publication No. 08–4531
March 2008

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