• Statistics (National Institutes of Health)

End-stage renal disease (ESRD)

Prevalence (2003): 452,957 U.S. residents were under treatment during the calendar year. 

Resulting from these primary diseases:

Diabetes: 165,113
Hypertension: 109,642
Glomerulonephritis: 74,444
Cystic kidney: 20,409
All other: 83,349


Incidence (2003): 102,567 U.S. residents were new beneficiaries of treatment. 

Resulting from these primary diseases:

Diabetes: 45,330
Hypertension: 28,319
Glomerulonephritis: 8,384
Cystic kidney: 2,291
All other: 18,243

Mortality (2003): Among U.S. residents, there were 174.3 deaths per 1,000 patient years. 
There were 82,588 deaths in all patients undergoing ESRD treatment. 

Costs for the ESRD program (2003): $27.3 billion in public and private spending

• Top 10 Facts About Chronic Kidney Disease (American Society of Nephrology)  
  1. Over 20 million adults over age 20 have chronic kidney disease. The number of people diagnosed
     with kidney disease has doubled each decade for the last two decades.
  2. In 2001, 392,023 U.S. residents were under treatment during the calendar year for End Stage
     Renal Disease (ESRD).
  3. Each year, kidney disease kills more than 14 people out of every 100,000, making it America's ninth
     leading cause of death.
  4. Diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure) are the number one and number two causes of
     kidney disease, respectively. Diabetes accounts for 35% of all new ESRD cases.
  5. Dialysis is not a cure for kidney disease. This life-saving, blood-filtering process is also strenuous,
     expensive and comes with severe dietary and lifestyle restrictions.
  6. Rates of new cases of ESRD are increasing by 7 percent per year for African-Americans, 10
     percent per year for American Indians, and 11 percent per year for Asian Americans. Caucasians
     have the lowest rate of increase at 6 percent per year.
  7. In 1972, it was estimated that the Medicare ESRD program would cost $250 million. However,
     today the program pays about $14 billion to support and treat ESRD patients. These skyrocketing
     costs are due to both the increase in patients and the cost of newer, more effective medications and
     treatment processes.
  8. Federal health insurance plans such as Medicare usually cover about 80% of costs for kidney
     disease patients.
  9. Medical research remains the best hope to reduce human suffering and the enormous Medicare
     costs imposed by ESRD.
  10. Unless people experiencing kidney failure are treated, they can die within days, due to the build-up
      of toxins and fluid in their blood.