Kidney disease is a very common condition in the United States. Millions of people have chronic kidney disease (CKD), but many of them do not even know they have it. This is especially true of individuals in the first two stages of CKD. To better understand the reality of how common kidney disease is in both the United States and the state of North Carolina, here is a basic breakdown of kidney disease numbers and statistics.
Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the steady loss of kidney function over many years. There are five stages of kidney disease. As the disease progresses through the stages, kidney function declines. According to the National Kidney Foundation, the stages of chronic kidney disease are:
- Stage 1: Normal kidney function; 90-100% of kidney function remains
- Stage 2: Mild loss of kidney function; 89 – 60% of kidney function remaining
- Stage 3a: Mild to moderate loss of kidney function; 59 – 45% of kidney function remains
- Stage 3b: Moderate to severe loss of kidney function; 44 – 30% of kidney function remains
- Stage 4: Severe loss of kidney function; 29 – 15% of function remains
- Stage 5: Kidney failure. Also called End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), this stage of CKD requires dialysis or a kidney transplant for the patient to survive; Less than 15% of kidney function remains
National Kidney Disease Statistics
According to the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) as well as the National Kidney Foundation, kidney disease numbers in the US are as follows:
- Over 40 million Americans are living with kidney disease and millions of others are at risk.
- Over 700,000 Americans have kidney failure and need dialysis or a transplant to live.
- Over 450,000 of these individuals are on dialysis
- Roughly 200,000 of these patients will live with a functioning kidney transplant
- There are about 100,000 patients registered on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) kidney transplant waiting list according to the National Kidney Foundation
- Women are more likely to be affected by CKD (16% vs 13%)
- Men are 64% more likely than women to progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD)
- Hispanics are 35% more likely than non-Hispanics to progress to ESRD.
- CKD is more common in non-Hispanic blacks (18%) than in non-Hispanic whites (13%)
- Nearly 50% of people with CKD also have diabetes or cardiovascular disease (CVD). High blood pressure and diabetes are the main causes of CKD.
Kidney Disease Statistics for North Carolina
The most recent complete data available from the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is for 2016. According to that data, in North Carolina there are:
- More than 1,374,000 patients with kidney diseases
- More than 17,700 patients on dialysis
- More than 24,000 patients diagnosed with kidney disease
- More than 6,00 patients with a kidney transplant
- More than 2,700 patients currently wait-listed for a kidney transplant
Yearly Healthcare Spending on Kidney Disease in the US
A sizable portion of yearly Medicare spending goes towards the treatment of kidney disease and related complications.
- $114 billion yearly Medicare costs for all kidney diseases per year
- $35 billion out of the total yearly Medicare costs for kidney disease are for kidney failure
The experienced physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and staff that make up Durham Nephrology Associates have been caring for patients with kidney disease for over 25 years. If you have questions or concerns about your kidney health, call 919-477-3005 to make an appointment at our Durham office or 919-690-1035 to make an appointment at our Oxford office. You can also request an appointment online.
