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National Survey Finds High Rate of Kidney Disease, Other Health Problems, in People at Risk

Posted on: Tuesday, 1 March 2005, 09:00 CST

NEW YORK, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The rate of kidney disease in people with at least one risk factor is nearly five times higher than in the general population, according to the second annual nationwide survey conducted by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and published in a special supplement to the March issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, the official journal of the foundation.

Moreover, people at risk for kidney disease are several times more likely to have a host of other potentially deadly health concerns that can increase that risk or aggravate already-diagnosed kidney problems, including obesity and anemia, suggesting that doctors need to take a multi-pronged approach to preventing and treating kidney disease.

"Risk factors for kidney disease include high blood pressure, diabetes or family history of the disease. More than one-half of people with at least one risk factor for kidney disease have already developed the condition, and have similarly high rates of other life-threatening conditions," says Allan Collins, MD, president-elect of the National Kidney Foundation. "This says that doctors need to do a better job of finding people at risk of the condition and catching it early, when treatment is most effective. Doctors also can't forget patients' additional health problems such as obesity and anemia, which, like ticking time bombs, become more deadly with time."

This is the second annual report from the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP), a series of nationwide screenings targeting people at risk of kidney disease and those who are in the early stages of the disease, when treatment has a chance of slowing, stopping or reversing its progression. The findings are based on blood and urine tests of more than 24,000 people, all of whom had at least one of the two leading causes of kidney failure -- diabetes or high blood pressure -- or a family history of kidney disease or either risk factor.

The study found that KEEP participants had twice the rate of obesity and extreme obesity as that seen in the general population. By race, black KEEP participants had the highest rates of obesity and extreme obesity, at 40 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

In terms of other conditions, approximately half of KEEP participants had high blood pressure and were obese, while one-quarter said they had been diagnosed with diabetes. These rates were all significantly higher than those seen in the general population.

Unfortunately, not everyone who has these conditions knows it, the survey shows. People younger than 45 were much less likely to know they had hypertension than older KEEP participants.

In people who had never been diagnosed with diabetes, the rate of high amounts of blood glucose -- a silent sign of impending diabetes -- increased with age, and was higher in non-whites and men. The rate of anemia among KEEP participants increased with age, and by age 75, almost 30 percent were anemic -- more than twice the rate seen in the general population. Anemia was also significantly more common in people also diagnosed with kidney disease. Women had twice the degree of severe anemia as men, regardless of whether they also had kidney disease. Among non-diabetics, blacks were around three times more likely to be anemic than whites.

"Clearly, there is much more to kidney disease than just kidney disease, and both patients and doctors alike can't ignore these other important conditions that can help cause or aggravate kidney problems," says Collins.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 20 million Americans -- one in nine adults -- have chronic kidney disease. KEEP is a free health screening program offered by the National Kidney Foundation. The Primary Sponsor of KEEP is Ortho Biotech Products L.P. For more information or for a list of upcoming KEEP screenings, visit http://www.keeponline.org/

National Kidney Foundation

CONTACT: Ellie Schlam, +1-212-889-2210, ext. 143, or Jennifer Sembler,+1-212-889-2210, ext. 235, both for National Kidney Foundation

Web site: http://www.kidney.org/http://www.keeponline.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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