Hidden Epidemic

by Dr. Lazowski

In a recent Global Burden of Disease study, mortality and health outcomes based on data from 1990 to 2013 were evaluated. Patients with kidney disease were found to have much higher age-standardized mortality rate owing to a low kidney function of 21 deaths per 100,000 people. In 2013 1.2 million cardiovascular deaths were attributed to kidney diseases. AIDS accounts for 1.9 deaths per 100,000 people but it is much more widely recognized as a cause of death. According to the estimate of American Society of Nephrology, 850 million people worldwide have some form of kidney disease, which is roughly double the number of people who live with diabetes mellitus (422 million), and 20 times more the the prevalence of cancer worldwide (42 million). Although kidney diseases are one of the most common health problems worldwide, many people are unaware of their impaired kidney function.  Multiple organizations including American Society of Nephrology, are collaborating to raise awareness of kidney diseases and to improve prevention efforts. GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators. Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980-2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet 2016; 388:1459-1544.