About Chronic Kidney Disease

If the kidney function is lost, chronic kidney disease (CKD) develops. People with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular or metabolic diseases as well as people with a family history of CKD and older people have an increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease.^6,7,8

CKD is a very common condition affecting more than 10 % of the global population. ^3,4 Due to its silent nature, many people are undiagnosed. This means millions of people die prematurely from CKD and related complications every year. ³ 

What causes chronic kidney disease? ^6,7,8

Certain people are at an increased risk of developing CKD. ⁵ This includes those:

• living with metabolic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure
• with a history of kidney conditions (e.g. infection, cysts or inflammation)
• with a family history of CKD
• who are older in age

What are the symptoms of chronic kidney disease? ⁹

When kidney disease first starts to develop, most cases are asymptomatic (no symptoms), but as damage to the kidneys worsens, symptoms can include: 

• fatigue
• swollen ankles, feet, or hands
• shortness of breath
• feeling sick
• urinating more or less often than usual
• itchy or dry skin

How is chronic kidney disease diagnosed?¹⁰

Professional guidelines recommend the use of two tests to diagnose CKD:

1. A blood test checks how well the kidneys are filtering blood, using a metric called estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).
2. A urine test checks for both albumin and creatinine in the urine, known as an albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR).

People with high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions are at higher risk of CKD and should be screened according to healthcare guideline recommendations. 

CKD Prevalence in Austria

Around 10% of the population have chronically impaired kidney function.¹¹

This is roughly equivalent to the population of Salzburg and Vorarlberg.

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