Global study warns chronic kidney disease now affects nearly 800 million people
A sweeping global analysis has found that chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects an estimated 800 million adults worldwide. The Science Daily Health service reported on Monday that the findings show the disease 'rising into the top ten leading causes of death globally'.
The analysis, led by Massachusetts General Brigham Health and based on data from 47 countries and 1.7 million adults, lifted the global CKD prevalence rate from 8.6 percent in 2015 to 9.8 percent in 2024. Lead author Joseph Vassalotti described that 11 percent increase as 'too large to be downplayed by headline numbers'.
In a press release, Vassalotti said 'the disease's lack of early symptoms means that millions of people continue to live undiagnosed'. The study's data showed that CKD is often present 'before the starting point of treatment' alongside type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
International Society of Nephrology vice-president Vivekanand Jha, in his assessment of the study, told Science Daily that 'the rise of CKD in mortality rankings represents the globalisation of a trend that has long been observed in the Pacific islands and sub-Saharan Africa'.
The analysis used adult data from the health databases of 47 countries. Turkey's Ministry of Health database was included, with the country recording CKD prevalence at 12.4 percent — above the global average.
Joseph Coresh of Esclepia Heart Health Center, assessing the heart-disease link, said that CKD 'is an underlying factor in roughly one third of cardiovascular deaths'. Coresh added that the three-year data on GLP-1 and SGLT2-inhibitor class drugs slowing CKD progression were 'a promising development'.
Mahboob Rahman of the Cleveland Clinic, who had methodological reservations, told Science Daily that 'global databases using different CKD diagnostic criteria limit accurate prevalence calculation'. Rahman noted that the ISN is planning to publish a new guideline for the global CKD definition in 2027.
Kidney Care UK director Fiona Loud told Science Daily that 'an estimated 8 million adults in the United Kingdom are living with CKD and around 60 percent of them are formally undiagnosed'. Loud said that routine screening in NHS primary care was 'an opportunity for early intervention'.
World Health Organization non-communicable diseases director Bente Mikkelsen said in a statement from Geneva that 'CKD is an under-recognised disease on global health priority lists; this study calls for the WHO to reassess its funding distribution'. Mikkelsen announced that CKD would receive 'global priority disease status' in 2027.
Turkish Society of Nephrology president Mehmet Tonbul, on the situation in Turkey, told Science Daily that 'the current number of nephrology specialists is not sufficient to bear the global CKD burden'. Tonbul said that the Ministry of Health was planning to launch a 250-specialist nephrology training programme by the end of 2026. This article is not personal medical advice; speak to your health-care provider about kidney health.