India chronic kidney diseases: India had the world’s second-largest chronic kidney disease (CKD) population in 2023, about 138 million people, behind China’s 152 million, according to a global analysis in The Lancet led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
CKD ranked ninth among global causes of death and was linked to ~1.5 million deaths last year. Prevalence peaked in North Africa and the Middle East (~18% each), followed by South Asia (~16%), Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America/Caribbean (just over 15%).
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Crucially, CKD fueled the heart-disease epidemic, accounting for ~12% of cardiovascular deaths and ranking seventh among cardiac killers, ahead of diabetes and obesity.
The study, drawing on Global Burden of Disease 2023 data across 204 countries (1990–2023), flagged 14 risk factors, with diabetes, hypertension, and obesity driving the largest health losses; dietary risks (low fruit/veg, high sodium) also weighed heavily.
Most patients were in early CKD stages, underscoring the value of routine screening (creatinine/eGFR, urine albumin) and aggressive risk-factor control to cut cardiac events and delay dialysis or transplant. But access to kidney-replacement therapy remains limited and uneven, the authors warned, and they argued for earlier diagnosis, affordable longitudinal care, sodium reduction, diabetes/BP control, and prevention-first policies.
“Chronic kidney disease is both a major risk factor for other leading causes of health loss and a significant disease burden in its own right. Yet, it continues to receive far less policy attention than other non-communicable diseases, even as its impact grows fastest in regions already facing the greatest health inequities,” senior author Theo Vos, professor emeritus at IHME, said.
