Is Chronic Kidney Disease a Critical Health Problem in Madeira Island?

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an ever-growing global public health problem affecting more than 10% of the general population worldwide. CKD is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, representing a major burden to the healthcare system. Although multiple studies have determined CKD prevalence in different countries, there is still a significant knowledge gap between epidemiological surveys and real data recorded by healthcare providers. Regarding the Portuguese population, most recent studies revealed a CKD prevalence of 20.9%. However, there is an irregular distribution of CKD prevalence in the country. For example, considering the Madeiran population, a non-published review of lab results of nearly 130,000 patients in our database allowed us an estimation of 20%. Thus, to better comprehend CKD prevalence and its characterization in this region, we designed a study comprising previous studies' strengths as well as aiming to overcome their limitations. The principal objective is to calculate global CKD prevalence in Madeira Island and stratify it by stage of CKD, allowing comparison of our results with recent literature on this subject. We intend to contribute with relevant epidemiological data in the characterization of CKD prevalence in Portugal and, simultaneously, have a more active role in CKD prevention and allocation of resources.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease (ckd); epidemiology and public health; portuguese population; prevalence; prevention.