Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States: A National Kidney Month Note, 2018

March is National Kidney Month, a time to raise awareness about preventing and detecting kidney disease early. For the March 2018 observance, CDC summarized what is known about chronic kidney disease in the United States.

How common it is

• Kidney diseases are the ninth leading cause of death in the United States.
• An estimated 15% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older — about 30 million people — have chronic kidney disease.
• It is estimated to be more common in women than in men. Yet among people with moderate to severe disease, women were less likely to know they had it.

What it is

Chronic kidney disease means the kidneys are damaged, or their glomerular filtration rate — a measure of how well they filter — is below 60 mL/min/1.73 m², for more than 3 months.

Risk factors and prevention

The main risk factors are:

• diabetes;
• high blood pressure;
• cardiovascular disease; and
• obesity.

Controlling diabetes and high blood pressure can delay or prevent chronic kidney disease and improve health. Acute kidney injury is also a risk factor for developing chronic kidney disease or making it worse.

Tracking it

CDC’s Chronic Kidney Disease Surveillance System documents and monitors kidney disease and its risk factors in the U.S. population and tracks progress in preventing, detecting and managing it.

Sources

Based on "National Kidney Month — March 2018," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.