Global “Silent Kidney Crisis”: Chronic Kidney Disease Is Surging Worldwide
A new global analysis reveals that chronic kidney disease has exploded nearly twofold since 1990, reaching as many as 788 million people in 2023. The condition has now become one of the top causes of death worldwide, yet remains vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated, especially in poorer regions.
From 378 Million to Nearly 800 Million: A Rapid Rise in Kidney Disease
In 1990, about 378 million people worldwide lived with reduced kidney function. By 2023, that number jumped to approximately 788 million.
Today, chronic kidney disease is among the top 10 global causes of death.
The condition often develops quietly — early stages usually cause no symptoms, which means many people don’t know they’re affected until the disease is advanced.
Why This Crisis Matters: Health Consequences & Mortality
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In 2023, about 1.5 million deaths were attributed to chronic kidney disease, reflecting a more than 6% increase in kidney-related deaths since 1993.
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Impaired kidney function contributes significantly to heart disease: the disease was estimated to account for around 12% of global cardiovascular deaths.
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As of 2023, chronic kidney disease ranks among the leading causes of disability-adjusted life years globally, meaning it reduces quality of life not only via death but through chronic disability.
Key Risk Factors & Missed Opportunities for Early Intervention
The most important risk factors for chronic kidney disease are diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), obesity, and overall metabolic disease burden, all of which impair kidney function over time.
Because early CKD often shows no symptoms, many national health systems fail to detect the disease in time. The new analysis stresses the need for better urine and kidney function screening, especially in regions with high risk.
Detecting CKD early matters: in its early stages, lifestyle changes or treatment can slow progression and prevent the need for dialysis or transplantation.
Unequal Access: Dialysis and Transplants Aren’t Available to All
While CKD has become common globally, access to life-saving treatments, dialysis or kidney transplants, remains highly uneven. In many lower-income regions (e.g. parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America), such therapies are either unavailable or unaffordable, leaving millions at risk without proper care.
Researchers warn that the true global burden may be even higher than current estimates, due to underdiagnosis and limited reporting in many countries.
What Experts Recommend: Prevention, Detection, and Treating Early
The research team — including experts at NYU Langone Health, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and University of Glasgow, calls for chronic kidney disease to be treated as a global health priority, on par with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and mental health.
They urge governments and health systems to:
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Expand screening programs (especially urine and kidney-function tests) to detect CKD early.
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Improve access to treatment such as dialysis and transplantation, especially in lower-income countries.
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Raise public awareness: many risk factors (like hypertension, diabetes, obesity) are preventable or manageable, reducing the future burden of CKD.
They also highlight that new medications introduced in recent years can slow disease progression and reduce related complications (like heart attack or stroke), but global rollout remains slow and uneven.
Read the full article here.
