Why there is a distressing rise in kidney diseaseNEWS | 17 March 2026I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Scientific American and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy . We leverage third party services to both verify and deliver email. By providing your email address, you also consent to having the email address shared with third parties for those purposes.
This article is part of “Innovations In: Kidney Disease,” an editorially independent special report that was produced with financial support from Vertex.
The global burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is high and getting higher. In 2023 it was the ninth-leading cause of death for adults and the 12th-leading cause of healthy years lost to illness, disability or premature death. In the U.S., researchers estimate that more than one in seven adults have CKD. Nine in 10 of those people are not aware that they have it, but their kidneys will struggle to filter waste and extra water from the blood as they worsen.
CKD has many different triggers and is intertwined with a range of other illnesses, including cardiovascular disease and hypertension. An analysis published in 2025 showed that CKD is more common in regions with a high diabetes prevalence, such as Oceania and the Middle East. In other areas with high rates, the cause is attributed to genetic variants within regional populations, such as in West Africa and Central America. Variability across communities underscores the complex nature of this noninfectious disease.
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COUNTRIES THAT STRUGGLE AGAINST KIDNEY DISEASE
In 1990 an estimated 378 million people aged 20 and older were living with chronic kidney disease (CKD). By 2023 that number had increased to 788 million worldwide.
The total number of people over 20 with CKD in the U.S., standardized for age, has increased 5 percent since 1990, reaching 11.7 percent in 2023. The 2023 global average was even higher, at 14.2 percent. Countries with large populations, such as China, have a high number of cases, but often their rates are actually below the world average. Countries with the highest rates in 2023 are labeled.
Part of that rise can be attributed to a population that’s increasing in both number and age. But CKD’s upward trend is outpacing those of several other leading causes of death.
Jen Christiansen; Source: “Global, Regional, and National Burden of Chronic Kidney Disease in Adults, 1990–2023, and Its Attributable Risk Factors: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023,” by Patrick B. Mark et al., in Lancet, Vol. 406; November 22, 2025 (data)
WHAT IS KIDNEY DISEASE?
Kidney disease is an umbrella term that includes a wide variety of causes, but in every case the condition disrupts the kidneys’ ability to filter waste and maintain balance in the body. It is classified based on the amount of damage and remaining kidney function.
How is Kidney Health Tracked?
Physicians divide chronic kidney disease (CKD) into five stages depending on how well the kidneys function, something that helps guide care. Because CKD usually develops gradually, stage-specific treatment can slow damage and keep the kidneys working as well as possible.
What puts your kidneys at risk?
Kidney injury is often triggered by certain medications or another medical condition, such as severe dehydration, a urinary tract blockage, or infection. Factors that fall within the following three categories can also increase the risk of developing the disease.
Where can damage occur in the kidney?
The kidneys are composed of different structures, and damage to any of them can disrupt how waste gets filtered from the blood and removed from the body. Here are some examples of where and how that damage can occur.Author: Lauren Gravitz. Now Medical Studios. Jen Christiansen. Source
