World Kidney Day 2024: promoting equitable access to health care and optimal medication

The problem of chronic kidney diseaseChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a pandemic.With regional variations, it affects 1 in 10 adults (9.1% to 13.4%) worldwide (850 million people) 1 , with an incremental prevalence when analyzed by decades.This is attributed to an increase in life expectancy and the rise of conditions that elevate the risk of CKD, mainly hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, among others 2 .Most patients will not need dialysis, partly because the development of CKD determines a higher likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease) than entering chronic dialysis 3 .This mortality imposed by CKD is globally recognized.Since 1990, it has been the leading cause of death from non-communicable diseases with the highest increase in incidence, ranking at the top of the table 4 .It also leads to high disability.In the estimation of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), which represents the number of years lost due to ill health, disability, or premature death, for the Americas in 2019, CKD ranked among the top causes, with a DALY rate of 686.1/100 000 population, not including the burden of DALYs from cardiovascular disease attributable to CKD 1 .