Kidney Disease

Kidney disease is characterized by a loss of kidney function over time, often months or years.¹ Chronic kidney disease, untreated, can progress to end-stage kidney failure, with routine kidney dialysis as the only treatment. End-stage kidney disease is fatal without dialysis treatment.² End-stage kidney disease is also known as end-stage renal disease, affecting over 650,000 individuals in the United States each year, and an estimated 2 million around the world.³ In a recent Global Burden of Disease study, chronic kidney disease was found to be the 12th most common cause of death worldwide, resulting in 1.1 million deaths annually. Chronic kidney disease mortality rates rose over 30 percent in the last decade.⁴ Obesity is a major contributor to kidney disease, as it also increases an individual’s risk of hypertension and diabetes. Chronic kidney disease is largely preventable through a healthy diet and exercise.⁵ However, globally, many deaths related to kidney disease are due to lack of access to dialysis services. Studies project that the need for dialysis services will double between 2010 and 2030; in 2010, 2.62 million people worldwide used dialysis services.⁶ In 2015, treating chronic kidney disease cost the United States $64 billion in Medicare expenses. Treating end-stage kidney disease cost $34 billion.⁷