Chronic Kidney Disease: Get in the know
The need for community awareness of kidney disease is urgent—particularly in the Washington D.C. area, which has the highest prevalence of kidney disease in any metro area in the U.S. Here are the facts:
- 1 in 3 American adults is at risk for kidney disease.
- 26 million American adults have CKD and millions of others are at increased risk.
- Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is the 9th leading cause of death in the country.
- Washington, D.C. has the most prevalent rate of CKD in the entire U.S.
- In the District, Maryland and Virginia, more than 8300 people are currently on the waitlist for transplants, and nearly 80 percent of those waiting for a kidney transplant in the District are ethnic minorities.
- African Americans are 3 times more likely to experience kidney failure.
- African Americans constitute more than 35% of all patients in the U.S. receiving dialysis for kidney failure, but only represent 13.2% of the overall U.S. population.
- Nearly half of African Americans have at least one risk factor for kidney disease.
- Major risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, a family history of kidney failure and being age 60 or older.
- According to a recent study, for every six individuals with kidney disease, only about one person knew they had it.
- End-stage renal disease in the 20019 zip code alone is 44 times the national average.
- 21 people in the U.S. die each day while waiting for a life-saving transplant.
- Kidneys donated from living donors offer better outcomes and can shorten the long, health-threatening, and uncertain wait for a kidney.