Abstract
Background/Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased annual costs, with the highest costs attributable to renal replacement therapy (RRT). These costs will rise as prevalence increases. Therefore, forecasting the future prevalence and economic burden of CKD, particularly in underdiagnosed populations, may provide valuable insights to policymakers looking at strategies to implement interventions to delay CKD progression. Methods: As part of the Inside CKD study, this work used epidemiological data to generate a virtual population representative of Poland that progressed through a microsimulation in 1-year increments between 2022 and 2027. This microsimulation was used to assess the clinical and economic burdens of CKD in Poland. Results: Between 2022 and 2027, the percentage of individuals with CKD is projected to increase from 10.7% to 11.3%. Only 30.1% of individuals with CKD will be diagnosed in 2027. During this time, the total healthcare cost of individuals with diagnosed CKD pre-RRT is predicted to decrease slightly from $73 million to $62 million. However, the total healthcare cost of individuals with diagnosed CKD is projected to increase by 23.1% when including RRT. Conclusions: This study shows that the clinical and economic burdens of individuals with CKD will worsen in the upcoming years. The implementation of policies to enhance the early detection of CKD and the initiation of treatments to slow disease progression should be implemented to reduce the number of individuals requiring RRT.