Chronic kidney disease unawareness and determinants using 1999-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data

Background Although chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 15% of the United States (US) population, Methods Data from the 1999-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used (n = 38 474); response rate > 70%. CKD self-report and lab-confirmed CKD were used to assess CKD unawareness. Adjusted logistic regression models examined association between unawareness and patient characteristics. Results In individuals with lab-confirmed CKD (n = 7137, 14.3%), 91.5% answered 'no' to self-report question; in those without CKD, 1.1% answered 'yes' to self-report question. In those with lab-confirmed CKD, in the adjusted models, increased age [odds ratio (ORs), 1.03 (95%CI, 1.02-1.04)] and female sex [OR, 1.37 (95%CI, 1.08-1.72)] were statistically significantly associated with greater odds of being unaware of CKD. Conclusion These findings demonstrated high unawareness of disease status as there was a discrepancy between respondents' self-reported CKD diagnosis and lab-confirmed CKD. Older individuals and women may be more unaware of their CKD; these groups should be queried about reasons for increased unawareness.

Automated summary

The study found that in individuals with lab-confirmed CKD, 91.5% answered 'no' to the self-report question; in those without CKD, only 1.1% answered 'yes'. Older individuals and women were more likely to be unaware of their CKD.