This web page compares levels of 5 key chronic kidney disease (CKD) risk factors among adults with and without biomedical signs of CKD.
The populations with and without CKD were obtained from the 2011–12 National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) – the biomedical component of the Australian Health Survey (AHS) – which is the most recent national survey to include biomedical testing (ABS 2013).
Adults who had biomedical signs of CKD in the 2011–12 NHMS had significantly higher levels of diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure and self-reported heart, stroke and vascular disease, than adults who did not have biomedical signs of CKD (Figure 1).
These higher risk factor levels among adults who may have developed CKD highlight the need for secondary prevention to limit the disease’s further development and increased severity. Secondary prevention focuses on the early detection and best practice management of a disease or disorder to reduce deterioration and long-term effects. This includes identifying people at risk of ill-health through screening programs, general health examinations, as well as the identification of complications and co-morbidities.
After adjusting for different population age structures, an estimated:
- 11% of adults who had biomedical signs of CKD in the 2011–12 NHMS had diabetes, 2.6 times as high as the 4.2% of adults without CKD who had diabetes
- 27% of adults with biomedical signs of CKD had uncontrolled high blood pressure, 1.5 times as high as the 18% of adults without CKD who had uncontrolled high blood pressure
- 10% of adults with biomedical signs of CKD reported having heart, stroke or vascular disease, 2.0 times as high as the 5.1% of adults without CKD who reported having heart, stroke or vascular disease.