Demographics
Nearly 25 million American men, women, and children have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and many are unaware they have it.
CKD is 15% more prevalent in African Americans and they are nearly four times more likely than Caucasians to develop kidney failure.
- American Society of Nephrology
African Americans make up about 12 percent of the population but account for 32 percent of people with kidney failure.
- National Institute of Health
Among new patients whose kidney failure was caused by high blood pressure, more than half (51.2 percent) are African-American, and of those whose kidney failure was caused by diabetes, almost one third (31.3 percent) are African-American.
- National Institute of Health
CKD is 17% more prevalent in Hispanics and Latinos and they are twice as likely as Caucasians to develop kidney failure.
- American Society of Nephrology
Currently, more than 500,000 Americans have been diagnosed with kidney failure and require dialysis or a transplant. By 2040, it is estimated that nearly 2 million people will be on dialysis.
The number of people diagnosed with kidney disease has doubled during each of the last two decades.
- American Society of Nephrology
CKD is a major factor in death and disability from conditions other than end-stage renal disease; half of people with kidney failure die from heart disease.
Costs and Medicare Spending
Around 8% of the 2011 Medicare budget of $759 billion, or $57 billion, will be spent on treating kidney disease. An additional $1.6 to $2.0 billion per year will be paid by Medicaid programs across the United States.
Medicare costs for kidney disease are more than $72,000 per patient annually.
- Congressional Kidney Caucus
The annual costs of treating end stage renal disease (ESRD, or complete kidney failure) in the U.S. are currently $32 billion.
- American Society of Nephrology
Medicare spends $106,373 per patient in the first year of a kidney transplant, and $16,844 annually thereafter.
- Congressional Kidney Caucus
Causes
The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure, together accounting for about 70% of new cases.
- National Institute of Health
The third most common cause is glomerulonephritis, a group of diseases that cause inflammation and damage to the kidney’s filtering units.
-National Kidney Foundation
Obesity is a strong risk factor for diabetes and hypertension and is known to triple the risk of chronic kidney failure. In 2008, 68% of Americans were found to be overweight, and close to 34% were obese.
High blood pressure is both a cause and a result of kidney failure. Other causes include inherited diseases, birth defects, kidney stones, tumors, an enlarged prostate gland in men, and repeated urinary infections.
Detection, Treatment, and Fatalities
Early detection can help prevent the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure. Four simple tests can detect CKD: blood pressure, urine albumin, urine protein, and serum creatinine.
Dialysis is a life-saving process that artificially replaces the functions of the kidney. Yet, even with the best therapy, the annual mortality rate for dialysis patients remains approximately 20%. About two-thirds of all dialysis patients die within five years of initiating therapy, which is a survival rate worse than most cancer patients.
–American Society of Nephrology
In the U.S. alone, 89,668 people were on the transplant list awaiting a kidney, as of September 2011.
More than 80% of U.S. candidates awaiting organ transplantation need a kidney.
Overall, renal transplants account for almost 69% of all solid organ transplants worldwide.
- Comprehensive Kidney Facts.com
More than 80,000 CKD patients die each year, making kidney disease America’s 9th leading cause of death.
- American Society of Nephrology
