Demographics

1 in 7 U.S. adults has chronic kidney disease. – United States Renal Data System, 2018 Annual Data Report

1 of 2 adults aged 30-64 is expected to develop chronic kidney disease in his or her lifetime. – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The prevalence of CKD is growing most rapidly in people ages 60 and older. – National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse

Nationally, there are over 500,000 patients receiving dialysis treatments and well over 200,000 living with a kidney transplant.

According to the American Society of Nephrology, there are over three million patients with chronic kidney disease in California and nearly 140,000 patients on dialysis in the Golden State.

African Americans are nearly four times as likely as Caucasians to develop kidney failure. – American Society of Nephrology

Latinos and Native Americans are twice as likely as Caucasians to develop kidney failure. – American Society of Nephrology

Costs and Medicare Spending

The annual federal cost for treating people with kidney disease at all stages is over $114 billion. – United States Renal Data System, 2018 Annual Data Report

The per-patient-per-year (PPPY) Medicare cost for hemodialysis is $90,971. For peritoneal dialysis, it is $76.177. The PPPY cost for transplant patients, $34,780 remained far lower than spending for either dialysis modality. – United States Renal Data System, 2018 Annual Data Report

In 2016, Medicare spending for beneficiaries with CKD aged 65 and older exceeded $67 billion, representing 25% of all Medicare spending in this age group. – United States Renal Data System, 2018 Annual Data Report

Causes

The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure, together accounting for about 72% of new cases. – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Roughly 40% of individuals with CKD also have diabetes, 32% have hypertension, and 40% have self-reported cardiovascular disease. – United States Renal Data System, 2016 Annual Data Report

Obesity is a strong risk factor for diabetes and hypertension, and is known to be associated with a tripling of the risk of chronic kidney failure. More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) and approxi­mately 17% (or 12.7 million) of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years are obese. – American Society of Nephrology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

High blood pressure is both a cause and a result of kidney failure. Other causes include autoimmune and genetic diseases, metabolic disorders, infections, congenital abnormalities, injuries, and some medicines or other drugs. – National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse

Detection, Treatment, and Fatalities

Kidney disease is a “silent disease.” It often has no symptoms in its early stages and can go undetected until it is very advanced. – National Kidney Foundation

Three simple tests can detect CKD: blood pressure, an estimated glomerular filtration rate blood test (eGFR), which tells how well your kidneys are filtering, and a urine test to check for albumin (a protein that can pass into the urine when the kidneys are damaged). – National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Kidney disease is America’s ninth lead­ing cause of death, killing more people than breast or prostate cancer. – National Kidney Foundation

Kidney disease cuts lives short. Individuals with CKD are 16 to 40 times more likely to die than to reach end-stage kidney disease. – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Having kidney disease increases your chances of also having cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and strokes. Half of people with kidney failure die from heart disease. – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Society of Nephrology

Dialysis, performed by hemodialysis three times per week, replaces only about 6% of normal kidney function.

Despite improvements in survival on dialysis over the years, only 56% of hemodialy­sis patients, and 67% of peritoneal dialysis patients, are alive three years after the onset of end-stage renal disease. – United States Renal Data System, 2016 Annual Data Report

In the U.S. alone, 96,438 people are on the transplant list awaiting a kidney. [as of February 11, 2019]. – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

For transplant hopefuls, the gap between supply and demand continues to widen. During 2016, 20,161 kidney transplants were performed. Fewer than a third (28%) of kidneys transplanted in 2016 were from living donors. – United States Renal Data System, 2018 Annual Data Report

Overall, renal transplants account for more than 69% of all solid organ transplants, worldwide. World Health Organization

Even a transplant is not a cure. Anti-rejection medications, which must be taken for a life­time, increase a patient’s risk of diabetes, cancer (particularly skin cancer), infection, heart problems, osteoporosis, and eventual damage to the transplanted kidney. – National Kidney Foundation