Chronic kidney disease affects 844 million and often goes undiagnosed
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is quietly becoming a huge global health issue: The Lancet just reported that it affects up to 844 million people and could be the fifth leading cause of death by 2040.
The tricky part? CKD often goes unnoticed until it's pretty advanced, so many people don't even know they have it.
Comorbidities aging access gaps fuel CKD
CKD is on the rise mostly because of more diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease, plus an aging population.
In many countries, early screening isn't easy to access, which means a lot of cases aren't caught in time.
On the bright side, new tests and AI tools are helping spot CKD earlier, and newer meds are slowing things down, but experts say we need fairer access to healthcare and better coordinated care if we want to keep this crisis in check.