Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was a factor in nearly 10% of all
deaths in Australia in 2006, and more than a million
hospitalisations in 2006-07, according to a report released today
by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
'The prevalence of risk factors for chronic kidney disease in
Australia is high. Factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure,
smoking and obesity can all contribute to the onset of the
disease,' said report author Claire Ryan.
The last national survey (in 1999-2000) that tested for CKD
showed that 1 in 7 Australians over the age of 25 had some form of
chronic kidney disease.
'Statistics like these obviously indicate that chronic kidney
disease is a common and serious problem in Australia,' Ms Ryan
said.
The report, An overview of chronic kidney disease in
Australia, 2009, shows that more and more Australians are
having dialysis or transplants for the disease's most severe form,
end stage kidney disease, for which diabetes is a leading
cause.
Between 2000 and 2007, the rate of people receiving dialysis and
kidney transplants for the treatment of end-stage kidney disease
went up by 26%.
Over the same period, the number of new cases of end-stage
kidney disease attributed to diabetes increased by over 65% in
people 55 years and older.
Chronic kidney disease is especially common among Indigenous
Australians.
'One factor could be the higher rates of diabetes among
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians,' Ms Ryan
said.
Indigenous Australians are six times as likely as non-Indigenous
Australians to receive dialysis and kidney transplants.
Death rates from CKD for Indigenous Australian men and women
were seven and 11 times those of their non-Indigenous
counterparts.
Wednesday 27 May 2009
Further information: Ms Claire Ryan, AIHW, tel.
02 6244 1179, mob. 0407 915 851
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. (02) 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications area
for the availability of An overview of chronic
kidney disease in Australia, 2009.