Ethnic Disparities in the Prevalence and Treatment of Kidney Disease

Introduction

Chronic kidney disease(CKD) has recently become recognized as an emerging public health problem. Indeed, CKD is 1 of the 28 focus areas of Healthy People 2010, the nation’s blueprint to increase quality and years of healthy life and eliminate health disparities. CKD has one of the highest mortality rates of any chronic medical condition in the United States. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the predominant cause of death for patients with CKD, with rates as high as 100 times the general population for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).2 Moreover, CKD and CVD share many common risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, and smoking. The incidence of ESRD is unequally distributed across persons of varying racial and ethnic backgrounds (see Fig. 1, p. 30) and represents one of the most dramatic examples of disparities in health outcomes in the U.S. Understanding the reasons for these disparities can improve strategies for prevention and early treatment in high-risk populations.