World Kidney Day 2014; Chronic Kidney Disease and Aging: A Global Health Alert

Each year World Kidney Day (WKD) takes place on March 13(1). WKD is a global health alertness campaign focusing on the importance of the kidneys and reducing the frequency and impact of renal disease and its associated health problems globally (1, 2). The campaign is celebrated each year on the second Thursday of March in many countries (1, 2). WKD is a joint initiative of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF) (2, 3). In 2014 the WKD will focus on chronic kidney disease and aging. Last year WKD focused on acute kidney injury (2, 4-6). It is noteworthy to remember that, individuals surviving an episode of acute kidney injury have a significant risk of progression to chronic renal failure and even end-stage kidney disease (2, 5, 7). It is estimated that 1 in 10 people have some degree of chronic kidney disease (7, 8). Indeed chronic kidney disease is a common condition that affects >8 million Americans (9-11). It can happen at any age and various situations can lead to chronic kidney disease (9-11). However, it becomes more common with increasing age (9-11). After the age of 40, renal filtration begins to fall by nearly 1% per year (2, 7-9). On top of the natural aging of the kidneys, many circumstances that impaired the kidneys are more common in older population consisting diabetes and hypertension (2, 6, 10). It is likely that around one in five men and one in four women between the ages of 65 and 74, and half of population aged 75 or more have chronic kidney disease (7, 9, 11, 12). In fact, the older subjects get the more likely you are to have some degree of renal impairment (7, 9, 11, 12). This is significant because chronic kidney disease increases the risk of cardiac attack and stroke, and in some cases can progress to renal failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation (9-12). Since chronic kidney disease is common in old ages, leading some professional organizations to recommend routine age-based screening for chronic kidney disease in the primary care arranging (9, 12).