Taming the chronic kidney disease epidemic: a global view of surveillance efforts

Jai Radhakrishnan, Giuseppe Remuzzi, Rajiv Saran, Desmond E. Williams, Nilka Rios-Burrows, Neil Powe, for the CDC-CKD Surveillance Team, Katharina Brück, Christoph Wanner, Vianda S. Stel, on behalf of the European CKD Burden Consortium, Sree K. Venuthurupalli, Wendy E. Hoy, Helen G. Healy, Anne Salisbury, Robert G. Fassett, on behalf of the CKD.QLD group, Donal O'Donoghue, Paul Roderick, Seiichi Matsuo, Akira Hishida, Enyu Imai, Satoshi Iimuro

Chronic kidney disease is now recognized to be a worldwide problem associated with significant morbidity and mortality and there is a steep increase in the number of patients reaching end-stage renal disease. In many parts of the world, the disease affects younger people without diabetes or hypertension. The costs to family and society can be enormous. Early recognition of CKD may help prevent disease progression and the subsequent decline in health and longevity. Surveillance programs for early CKD detection are beginning to be implemented in a few countries. In this article, we will focus on the challenges and successes of these programs with the hope that their eventual and widespread use will reduce the complications, deaths, disabilities, and economic burdens associated with CKD worldwide.