About Chronic Kidney Disease

More than 20 million Americans, 1 in 9 adults, have chronic kidney disease ¹

Another 20 million adults are at increased risk for CKD—most don't even know it ¹

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has defined the progressive stages of CKD based on glomerular filtration rate(GFR), as this is considered the best overall index of kidney function in health and disease ^2,3

Key risk factors for CKD are diabetes, high blood pressure, family history, advanced age, and ethnicity ²

GFR, along with evidence of kidney damage >3 months, assists in identifying and staging CKD patients ²

Serum creatinine alone should not be used to assess the level of Kidney function ^2,4

References

1. National Kidney Foundation. Kidney Learning System. New York, NY: National Kidney Foundation; 2003.
2. National Kidney Foundation. K/DOQI clinical practice guidelines for chronic kidney disease: evaluation, classification, and stratification. Am J Kidney Dis. 2002;39 (suppl 1):S1-S266.
3. Levey AS, Coresh J, Balk E, et al. National Kidney Foundation practice guidelines for chronic kidney disease: evaluation, classification, and stratification. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139:137-147.
4. National Kidney Foundation. K/DOQI clinical practice guidelines for bone metabolism and disease in chronic kidney disease. Am J Kidney Dis. 2003;42(suppl 3):S1-S202.