The Kidney Disease Initiative and the Division of Diabetes Translation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. In 2000, more than 26 million adults were estimated to have chronic kidney disease (CKD), placing them at risk of progressing to kidney failure. The number of new cases of kidney failure treated by using dialysis or transplantation in the United States has more than doubled since 1990, and it is expected to continue to increase with the aging of the population and the increasing prevalence of such risk factors as diabetes. In recognition of this problem, Congress passed legislation to build capacity and infrastructure at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a public health approach to CKD. This Kidney Disease Initiative at the CDC includes surveillance, epidemiology, state-based demonstration projects, and economic studies. The objectives, in collaboration with partners, are to assess and monitor the burden of CKD in the United States, determine its risk factors and rates of preventive practices, develop methods to identify and monitor populations at risk of developing CKD, document the costs of kidney disease, and develop models to help predict the progression of this disease and test the cost-effectiveness of various public health strategies for preventing CKD.