A Nationwide Epidemiological Study of Chronic Kidney Disease Prevalence in a High-Risk Patient Population Without Prior Diagnosis in Primary Health Care in Poland

Background/Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 10 to 15% of the world population. Currently, there are no reliable epidemiological data on the prevalence of CKD in Poland. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CKD in the population of high-risk primary health care patients without a prior diagnosis of CKD in the Polish population. Methods: This multicenter retrospective study examined 5100 patients from 28 medical institutions. Patients were eligible for the study if they were 60–75 years old or had a history of the risk factors such as hypertension, kidney disease other than CKD, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity. The study was carried out in two stages, each of which included a determination of serum creatinine levels along with an estimation of eGFR and a determination of albuminuria in a urine sample. Results: In total, 5100 patients were included in the final analysis. In the univariate analysis, it was found that as age and body mass index values increased, the risk of developing CKD increased; the same correlation was observed when assessing the presence of hypertension, diabetes, or heart failure. In the multivariate analysis, the negative effects of hypertension, age 60–75 years, diabetes, heart failure, cardiovascular diseases, and kidney disease other than CKD on the development of CKD were confirmed. Conclusions: The results indicate that CKD is a significant social problem among the Polish population with risk factors.