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Key to preventing chronic kidney disease and its devastating complications

Around 1 in 7 Australian adults have chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD causes or contributes to almost 1 in 10 deaths in Australia. In addition, individuals with CKD have a significantly higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, as people with moderate to severe CKD have at least a 40% increased risk of hospitalisation for a cardiovascular event.

These surprising figures, along with extensive data on the burden of chronic kidney disease were recently reported by The George Institute, in a report commissioned by Kidney Health Australia. The authors have also released the results of research addressing the cost effectiveness of early detection and intervention against CKD in Australia. This is the first comprehensive assessment of the impact of interventions designed to decrease the burden of CKD and estimates the incremental costs and benefits associated with various strategies for kidney screening and treatment.

Screening and intensive management of the major risk factors surrounding CKD — high blood pressure, diabetes and protein in the urine — were clearly highlighted by the research team as appropriate and cost-effective. With the benefits of preventing cases of end-stage kidney disease (the most severe form of CKD which requires ongoing dialysis or a kidney transplant to keep the patient alive) and preventing heart attacks and strokes, the authors conclude that General Practitioner-run screening of 50-69 year olds, along with intensive management of patients known to have these three major risk factors, should be highly cost-effective strategies.

Outlining the results, Dr Alan Cass, Director of the Renal Division at The George Institute noted that "These methods are simple and extremely cost-effective. We estimate that over almost a fifty year period, screening for diabetes, high blood pressure and protein in the urine, followed by best-practice management of those detected, would be likely to prevent around 100,000 deaths ."

The report was published by Kidney Health Australia this month, and can be found online at their website.