Kidney function test – type 2 diabetes and/or CVD (PI18 and PI19)

Indicators related to kidney function tests in the national Key Performance Indicators (nKPI) collection are:

  • Kidney function test type – type 2 diabetes and/or CVD (PI18): the proportion of Indigenous regular clients with type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease (CVD) who, within the previous 12 months, had:
    • both an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) AND an albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) test result recorded
    • only an eGFR test result recorded
    • only an ACR test result recorded
    • neither an eGFR nor an ACR test result recorded.
  • Kidney function test result (risk category) – type 2 diabetes and/or CVD (PI19): the proportion of Indigenous regular clients with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD who had both an eGFR and ACR test result recorded within the previous 12 months as either:
    • normal risk
    • low risk
    • moderate risk
    • high risk.

PI18 and PI19 are collected for males and females in age groups:

  • 18–24
  • 25–34
  • 35–44
  • 45–54
  • 55–64
  • 65 and over.

There have been changes to the specification of these indicators over time. See Technical notes for more information.

Why testing kidney function is important

Type 2 diabetes and CVD can damage the kidneys. If kidney disease is diagnosed early, appropriate treatment can be given and its effects can be closely monitored.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) guidelines recommend screening kidney function annually for patients with type 2 diabetes and every 1–2 years for patients with CVD. This screening checks urine albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) for albuminuria, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (Kidney Health Australia 2020, RACGP 2020).

Indigenous Australians are far more likely to develop, and to die from, chronic kidney disease than non-Indigenous Australians (AIHW 2022).

Kidney function test type – type 2 diabetes and/or CVD (PI18)

At June 2022, both an eGFR and an ACR test result was recorded within the previous 12 months for:

  • 41% (or around 20,100) of Indigenous regular clients aged 18 and over with type 2 diabetes
  • 36% (or around 6,700) of Indigenous regular clients aged 18 and over with CVD
  • 39% (or around 22,200) of Indigenous regular clients with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD.

Kidney function test type—type 2 diabetes and/or CVD, by test type and reporting period

This Tableau visualisation shows the percentage of Indigenous regular clients aged 18 and over with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD who had a kidney function test recorded in the last year by test type and reporting period (June 2022).

Data supporting this visualisation are available in Excel supplementary data tables at Data.

For Indigenous regular clients with type 2 diabetes, having both an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and an albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) test result recorded in the previous 12 months was highest in:

  • Western Australia (50%)
  • Major cities (44%)
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) (43%).

For Indigenous regular clients with CVD, having both an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and an albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) test result recorded in the previous 12 months was highest in:

  • Western Australia (45%)
  • Very remote areas (43%)
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) (37%).

For Indigenous regular clients with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD, having both an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and an albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) test result recorded in the previous 12 months was highest in:

  • Western Australia (48%)
  • Major cities and Very remote areas (both 41%)
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) (40%).

Kidney function test type—type 2 diabetes and/or CVD, by test type and either state/territory, remoteness or organisation type, reporting period

Two Tableau visualisations are presented here. The first shows the percentage of Indigenous regular clients aged 18 and over with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD who had a kidney function test recorded in the last year by test type (select for ACR, eGFR, both ACR and eGFR, or neither) for either:

  • state/territory (NSW/ACT, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, Tas, NT, Australia)
  • remoteness area (Major cities, Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote, Very remote, Australia)
  • organisation type (ACCHO, non-ACCHO, Total).

Reporting period is for June 2022 only.

The second visualisation shows the selected information from the first visualisation by sex (male, female) and age group (18–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65+).

Data supporting this visualisation are available in Excel supplementary data tables at Data.

Kidney function test result (risk category) – type 2 diabetes and/or CVD (PI19)

At June 2022, a risk category of ‘normal’ was recorded within the previous 12 months for:

  • 38% (or around 7,600) of Indigenous regular clients aged 18 and over with type 2 diabetes
  • 40% (or around 2,600) of Indigenous regular clients aged 18 and over with CVD
  • 40% (or around 8,800) of Indigenous regular clients with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD.

Kidney function test result (risk category) – type 2 diabetes and/or CVD, by risk category and reporting period

This Tableau visualisation shows the percentage of Indigenous regular clients aged 18 and over with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD who had both an ACR and eGFR test result to determine CKD risk category and reporting period (June 2022).

Data supporting this visualisation are available in Excel supplementary data tables at Data.

For clients with type 2 diabetes, having a risk category of ‘normal’ recorded within the previous 12 months was highest in:

  • Victoria/Tasmania (combined) (48%)
  • Major cities (49%)
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) (40%).

For clients with CVD, having a risk category of ‘normal’ recorded within the previous 12 months was highest in:

  • Victoria/Tasmania (combined) (49%)
  • Major cities (48%)
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) (41%).

For clients with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD, having a risk category of ‘normal’ recorded within the previous 12 months was highest in:

  • Victoria/Tasmania (combined) (50%)
  • Major cities (51%)
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) (42%).

Kidney function test result (risk category) – type 2 diabetes and/or CVD, by risk category and either state/territory, remoteness or organisation type, reporting period

Two Tableau visualisations are presented here. The first Tableau visualisation shows the percentage of Indigenous regular clients aged 18 and over with type 2 diabetes and/or CVD who had both and ACR and eGFR test result to determine CKD risk category (select for normal, low, moderate or high), for either:

  • state/territory (NSW/ACT, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, Tas, NT, Australia)
  • remoteness area (Major cities, Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote, Very remote, Australia)
  • organisation type (ACCHO, non-ACCHO, Total).

Reporting period is June 2022 only.

The second visualisation shows the selected information from the first visualisation by sex (male, female) and age group (18–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65+).

Data supporting this visualisation are available in Excel supplementary data tables at Data.

References

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2022) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework: kidney disease, Canberra: AIHW.

Kidney Health Australia (2020) Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Management in Primary Care (4th edition), Melbourne: Kidney Health Australia.

RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners) (2020) Management of type 2 diabetes: a handbook for general practice, East Melbourne, Vic: RACGP.