Abstract
BACKGROUND: The clinical practice guidelines for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in 2018 and the launch of the first therapeutic agent in 2021 are expected to have improved CKD management in Japan. However, the reality of CKD diagnosis in this environment is poorly understood. Here, we conducted a retrospective observational study. METHODS: We investigated the changes in CKD diagnosis rates, the characteristics of diagnosed cases, and the prognostic impact of the timing of diagnosis by using a database of administrative claims and medical checkups from 2014 to 2023 (DeSC Healthcare Inc.™) for patients with a potential risk of CKD (eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and/or urine protein qualitative test result of ≥1+). RESULTS: We extracted 287,999 patients who newly met the diagnostic criteria for CKD at a medical checkup. The rate of new CKD diagnosis remained ~ 3% until 2021. Factors associated with CKD diagnosis included blood/urine tests at a medical institution (odds ratio [OR] 4.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.92-4.31; OR 5.02, 95% CI 4.82-5.22) and presence of comorbidities: anemia (OR 2.30; 95% CI 2.16-2.45), heart failure (OR 1.87; 95% CI 1.76-1.98), and diabetes (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.76-1.91). The incidence of cardiorenal-related events at 36 months after the date when patients newly met the CKD diagnostic criteria was 4.5% and 12.4% for those diagnosed at stage 3a and 3b, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CKD diagnosis was low and renal function tests were infrequently performed. Periodic blood/urine tests may help clinicians to detect CKD in an early phase. STUDY REGISTRATION: UMIN000052393.