Third of over 75s unaware they have chronic kidney disease

Over one-third of people aged over 75 show evidence of having severe chronic kidney disease, according to research from UCL published this week in the latest NHS Digital Health Survey for England. By comparison, only 5 per cent of adults of that age reported that they had been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease by a doctor. 8,011 adults and 2,056 children took part in the Health Survey for England 2016 which monitors trends in the nation's health and covers a variety of topics each year including obesity, smoking and drinking and wellbeing. The surveys have been carried out since 1994 by UCL and NatCen Social Research. "It is very worrying that so many people have evidence of chronic kidney disease but don't know about it. One in 20 adults aged 75+ reported a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease. But when we tested their blood and urine samples, we found that over one-third of people this age had evidence of severe chronic kidney disease (stage 3 to 5)", said Professor Jennifer Mindell (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health), and co-editor of the report.