The rate of kidney failure for African Americans is three times higher than among Caucasians and one reason for this is that they are not aware when they have earlier stages of kidney disease, at a time treatment could prevent the damage from progressing to the point when dialysis or kidney transplant is necessary. The problem appears to be specific for kidney disease, since most African Americans who had diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol levels knew so.
Even many physicians are unaware of the extent of the crisis because they continue to adhere to outdated standards of kidney function, investigators say.
These important findings come from results of the Jackson Heart Study, reported in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation.
“Much of the problem of patient awareness is due to a lack of awareness of the medical practitioners,” lead author Dr. Michael F. Flessner said. “Most physicians were trained in an era in which serum creatinine [a measure of kidney function] was used as an absolute indicator of kidney disease.”
Currently, early stages of kidney disease are diagnosed when protein is detected in the urine. Later stages are determined by reductions in glomerular filtration rate, a measure of how well the kidneys are filtering out waste products.
“The National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology, and the National Institute of Health’s National Kidney Disease Education Program are beginning to have an impact on this lack of awareness at the practitioner level,” Dr. Flessner added. Dr. Flessner is Director of the Division of Nephrology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
This study included more than 3,400 African Americans who were interviewed and underwent physical examinations, including tests of their blood and urine for evidence of kidney disease and other illnesses.
They were also asked, “Have you ever been told by a doctor or health care professional that you have kidney disease?” or if they were being treated with dialysis.
Overall, 20% of subjects were found to have chronic kidney disease, but very few of those affected were aware of that fact (fewer than 15%). Thus, for every six individuals with kidney disease, only about one person knew it.