Advanced stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) may cause a substantial financial burden for patients and their families, according to a study recently presented during ASN Kidney Week 2015 (Nov. 3-8) in San Diego, California.
The impact of CKD on a patient’s household income has been a matter of debate. To find out whether the severity of CKD and side-effects related with the condition and its treatment were associated with a fall into poverty, in the study titled “The Impact of Chronic Kidney Disease on Household Income: Does Health Affect Wealth?” Associate Professor Rachael Morton from the University of Sydney and her colleagues examined 2914 subjects taking part in the international Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP). All study participants were followed up for a median period of 5 years.
A patient with stage 5 chronic kidney disease has end stage renal disease (ESRD) with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 15 ml/min or less. At this advanced stage of disease the kidneys have lost nearly all of their ability to efficiently preform their job and dialysis or a kidney transplant is eventually necessary for patient survival.
Of the total study participants, 933 were in poverty at screening and a further 436 were in poverty by the end of the study period. The results revealed that CKD severity but not side effects associated with the disease, was a significant predictor of a fall into poverty. Results also showed that study subjects who underwent kidney transplants were 52% less likely to fall into poverty. Importantly, researchers observed low educational attainment, black ethnicity, single adult household, and low income at the study beginning were all factors associated with patients entering poverty levels in connection with the disease. “Patients in advanced stages of CKD are at an increased risk of falling into financial hardship,” the authors concluded, according to a news release. “Kidney transplantation may have a role in reducing the risks of household poverty due to CKD.”
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An increase in the levels of serum phosphorus in African-American patients with a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is linked with a faster progression to kidney failure, also called end-stage renal disease (ESRD). These data, presented during the ASN Kidney Week 2015 (Nov. 3–8) in San Diego, California, corroborate previous results in Caucasian populations in the U.S.