Decline in Diabetes-Related Renal Disease Comes With Caveat

From 1996 to 2007, the rate of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in persons with diabetes decreased 35% nationwide, according to the CDC.¹

During this period, the actual number of cases of ESRD increased, as did the number of persons who received a diagnosis of diabetes. However, the incidence of diabetes-related ESRD was lower than the incidence of diabetes, which accounts for the reported decline in the rate of ESRD.

Possible reasons for the decrease in the rate of ESRD include reductions in risk factors for renal failure, such as hyperglycemia and hypertension, and widespread use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), which slow the decline in kidney function. In 2007, nearly 80% of persons aged 20 to 64 years, with diabetes and chronic kidney disease took ACE inhibitors or ARBs.²

Despite the seemingly encouraging news about the decline in the rate of ESRD, the number of newly diagnosed cases of ESRD is expected to continue to rise as the number of new diabetes cases increases in coming years.

References:

REFERENCES:
1. NR Burrows, I Hora, P Cho, et al. Incidence of end-stage renal disease attributed to diabetes among persons with diagnosed diabetes-United States and Puerto Rico, 1996–2007. MMWR. 2010;59:1361-1366.
2. US Renal Data System. USRDS 2009 Annual Data Report: Atlas of Chronic Kidney Disease and End-Stage Renal Disease in the United States. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 2009.