Background: Early intervention during the course of chronic kidney disease (CKD) may delay the progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Several studies have reported that relatives of patients with ESRD are at risk for kidney disease (KD), but little is known about the prevalence and awareness of CKD in this population, which is the object of this report.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey by way of a voluntary screening of relatives of patients with ESRD in 10 communities in one southeastern state. Age; race; sex; family and personal history of KD, hypertension, and diabetes; height; weight; and blood pressure were determined. Proteinuria and random blood glucose and serum creatinine were measured. Creatinine clearance (CrCl) was assessed using the Cockroft-Gault formula.
Results: Among 769 screened adults, 29.2% with a family history of ESRD were included in the study sample. CKD (CrCl < 90 mL/min) was present in 49.3%, 13.9% had a CrCl less than 60 mL/min, and 9.9% had proteinuria of 1+ or greater. Among those with a CrCl less than 60 mL/min or a proteinuria of 1+ or greater, or both, only 13.0% were aware of their KD. Awareness of CKD was not associated with age, race, sex, education, control of diabetes and hypertension, or physician's visits. Among those who had seen a physician recently, only 7.9% were aware of their KD.
Conclusion: Awareness of KD is less than expected among relatives of patients with ESRD considering the high prevalence of CKD in this population. Screening these individuals might help identify people with early KD.
Copyright 2002 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.