Announcement: National Kidney Month—March 2016

Weekly / March 4, 2016 / 65(8);217

March is designated National Kidney Month to raise awareness about the prevention and early detection of kidney disease. Approximately 10% (20 million) of U.S. adults aged =20 years have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and most of them are unaware of their condition (1,2). If left untreated, CKD can lead to kidney failure, requiring dialysis or transplantation for survival.

Major risk factors for CKD include diabetes, high blood pressure, and aging (1). Furthermore, youth are being increasingly affected by diabetes (3), placing them at risk for becoming part of the adult population with CKD over time. Onset of diabetes at a young age means longer duration of diabetes in early adulthood, a powerful factor in CKD progression regardless of age, sex, or type of diabetes (4). Currently, a method of preventing type 1 diabetes is unknown. Therefore, prevention of type 2 diabetes might offer the greatest benefit for stemming the onset of CKD at any age. Among persons at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, lifestyle changes to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and lose weight have been shown to prevent or delay its onset (5).

In collaboration with partners, CDC supports and maintains the CKD Surveillance System website (http://www.cdc.gov/ckd/surveillance) to document and monitor over time the burden of CKD and its risk factors in the U.S. population, including children and adolescents, and to track progress in CKD prevention, detection, and management. Information is available about kidney disease prevention and control (http://www.nkdep.nih.gov) and about diabetes prevention and control (http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes).

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References

1. CDC. National chronic kidney disease fact sheet: general information and national estimates on chronic kidney disease in the United States, 2014. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/kidney_factsheet.pdf
2. CDC. Chronic kidney disease surveillance system—United States. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/ckd/surveillance
3. Dabelea D, Mayer-Davis EJ, Saydah S, et al. ; SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. Prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents from 2001 to 2009. JAMA 2014;311:1778–86. CrossRef PubMed
4. Fox CS, Matsushita K, Woodward M, et al. ; Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium. Associations of kidney disease measures with mortality and end-stage renal disease in individuals with and without diabetes: a meta-analysis. Lancet 2012;380:1662–73. CrossRef PubMed
5. Knowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, et al. ; Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med 2002;346:393–403. CrossRef PubMed

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Suggested citation for this article: Announcement. National Kidney Month—March 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:217. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6508a4.

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