National Kidney Month — March 2012

National Kidney Month — March 2012

Weekly

March 16, 2012 / 61(10);169

March is designated National Kidney Month to raise awareness about kidney disease prevention and early detection. In 2010, kidney disease was the eighth leading cause of death in the United States (1). Approximately 20 million U.S. adults aged ≥20 years have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and most of them are unaware of their condition (2,3). If left untreated, CKD can lead to kidney failure, requiring dialysis or transplantation for survival (2,4). Among persons on hemodialysis because of kidney failure, the leading causes of hospitalization are cardiovascular disease and infection (4).
CDC, in collaboration with partner agencies and organizations, has created the National Chronic Kidney Disease Fact Sheet 2010 (2) and is establishing a national CKD surveillance system to document and monitor the burden of CKD in the United States. Diabetes and high blood pressure are major risk factors for CKD, but controlling diabetes and blood pressure can prevent or delay CKD and improve health outcomes (2).
Information about kidney disease prevention and control is available at http://www.nkdep.nih.gov. Information about CDC's Chronic Kidney Disease Initiative is available at http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/projects/kidney.htm.

References

1. Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD. Deaths: preliminary data for 2010. Natl Vital Stat Rep 2012;60(4).
2. CDC. National chronic kidney disease fact sheet 2010. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2010. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheets/kidney.htm. Accessed March 5, 2012.
3. Plantinga LC, Boulware LE, Coresh J, et al. Patient awareness of chronic kidney disease: trends and predictors. Arch Intern Med 2008;168:2268–75.
4. US Renal Data System. USRDS 2011 annual data report: atlas of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease in the United States. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 2011. Available at http://www.usrds.org/adr.aspx. Accessed March 5, 2012.