Chronic Kidney Disease Statistics in the US

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a very serious condition that affects millions of Americans. In fact, it's the 9th leading cause of death in the United States, yet many people don't even know they have it. Although it's not the most uplifting subject, it is important to know the prevalence of the disease and the statistics surrounding diagnosis, treatment and demographics. One of the best ways to combat diseases is to raise awareness and understand them in order to help curb their presence.

Chronic Kidney Disease by the Numbers

• An estimated 31 million Americans, or 1 in 10, have some stage of CKD
  
• There are 5 stages of CKD, although symptoms don't surface until stage 3
  
• 9 out of 10 patients that have stage 3 CKD are not aware of it
  
• Over 570,000 Americans have stage 5, or end stage renal disease (aka kidney failure)
  
• Each year, kidney disease kills more people than breast or prostate cancer. In 2013, more than 47,000 Americans died from kidney disease
  
• CKD shortens life expectancy by an average of 5–11 years.
  
• It's not just the US that's affected -- in 2005, 58 million people across the globe died from CKD complications.
  

Kidney Disease Treatment Statistics

• More than 2 million people worldwide receive dialysis
  
• 17,600 kidney transplants were performed in the United States in 2013. Less than one-third of the transplanted kidneys were from living donors.
  
• In 2009, the median waiting time to transplant was 3.6 years.
  

Demographics: Who is at Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease?

• 1 in 3 adults are at risk of CKD in the US
  
• Nearly 10,000 children and adolescents have kidney failure or end stage renal disease (ESRD)
  
• Young adults with ESRD since childhood have a life expectancy of 38 years if they are treated with dialysis and 63 years if they receive a kidney transplant.
  
• African Americans are 3.5 times more likely to have ESRD.
  
• Native Americans are 1.5 times more likely to have ESRD.
  
• Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely to have ESRD.
  

The Cost of Kidney Disease

Per person average annual Medicare expenses attributable to CKD: 

• $1700 for stage 2 
  
• $3500 for stage 3 
  
• $12,700 for stage 4
  
• A 2010 USRDS report shows that Medicare spent $29 billion in 2009 -- 6% of the annual Medicare budget -- for people with ESRD
  
• Across all stages of CKD, the 2011 USRDS report shows that annual Medicare spending among adults aged 65 years or older was $20,432 per person
  

Kidney Waiting List Statistics

• ​There are currently 100,791 patients awaiting kidney transplants in the US
• People die all the time waiting for a donor to come through because the average wait time for any patient is 3.6 years
• The average wait time for a live donor is around 1 year
• The average wait time for a deceased donor is around 4 years
• The majority of live donors are family or friends of the patient, accounting for about 7,000 donors per year
• Around 13,000 kidneys per year are donated from deceased donors

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