Key Facts about Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

More than 26 million American adults have CKD and millions more are at risk and don’t know it. Since early kidney disease has no symptoms, and can become kidney failure with little or no warning, kidney disease has been labeled a “silent killer” and a “quiet epidemic.”
The incidence of end-stage kidney failure is rising fast, with more than 526,000 Americans currently receiving treatment for kidney failure (also called end stage renal disease, or ESRD). This includes more than 367,000 dialysis patients and 158,000 people with functioning kidney transplants.
Each year, more than 87,000 Americans die from causes related to kidney failure.
Of the more than 105,000 Americans currently awaiting organ transplants, 83,000 are waiting for a kidney.
Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure in the U.S. Along with high blood pressure, these two major risk factors account for nearly 85% of new cases of kidney disease.
Kidney disease hits minorities disproportionately, with African Americans affected at a rate more than three times as great as among Caucasians. Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and the elderly are also at increased risk.
Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of people with CKD. (Individuals with early stages of CKD are 5 times more likely to die from heart disease than to reach end stage kidney disease.)
On average, there are more than 16,500 kidney transplants performed each year in the U.S.

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For more information on kidneys and kidney disease, visit www.kidney.org

Sources of Facts and Statistics:

U.S. renal Data System. Available at www.usrds.org
December, 2009

The National Kidney Foundation thanks the following sponsors for their support: