New University of Limerick research identifies groups at high risk of chronic kidney disease

A NEW STUDY by researchers at the University of Limerick (UL) has revealed an extraordinarily high burden of kidney disease in older individuals in Ireland that suffer from common chronic conditions.

Women were also 50% more likely to have chronic kidney disease than men, according to the results of the new study by researchers at UL School of Medicine.

The researchers also found that economic and societal factors had an influence, with medical card holders and unemployed individuals far more likely to have kidney disease.

The publication of the research coincides with World Kidney Day this Thursday, March 13, with the primary focus of which is early detection of kidney disease in order the protect long term kidney health.

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The study was led by Dr Meera Tandan, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Kidney Disease Surveillance System (NKDSS) in the UL School of Medicine.

“Chronic kidney disease poses a huge problem for the Irish population and exerts a significant impact on patient survival and quality of life,” said Dr Tandan.

“Our research has generated precise estimates of the burden of kidney disease in Ireland and identified those individuals with the greatest risk in our community. We have shown that chronic kidney disease is very common among individuals with certain chronic conditions, the majority of which are generally managed in primary care.

“We have also for the first time highlighted the importance of new conditions like cancer and obesity as these conditions contributed greatly to the high burden of kidney disease in the population.” 

Ireland has an estimated 500,000 individuals living with chronic kidney disease. Many are at significant risk of progressing to kidney failure and premature death. Just over 5,400 of these individuals have already developed kidney failure and are receiving treatment with either dialysis or a kidney transplant.

The goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence of chronic kidney disease in a representative sample of the Irish population aged 50 and over, and determine what groups had the highest burden of disease so that this information might be used to target these groups as part of a national population health screening programme.

The largest study of its kind in Ireland, the research explored in detail factors associated with kidney disease using data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (TILDA).

It found that one in seven individuals suffered from chronic kidney disease in Ireland (14.7%), age 50 and over, and this increased to one in two individuals over the age of 75 years. Women were more affected than men (17.8% versus 11.5%), a finding that persisted across all age groups.

Professor George Mellotte, Director of the National Renal Office and Consultant Nephrologist said: “This research reinforces the need for inclusion of chronic kidney disease into the HSE chronic disease management programme so that these patients at risk of kidney disease can benefit from early screening and early intervention.”

A detailed analysis revealed that the burden of chronic kidney disease was far more common in individuals with common chronic conditions including pre-existing heart disease (33.9%), diabetes (28%), cancer (25.5%), and bladder problems (23.7%).

Professor Austin Stack, senior author on the study and Director of the NKDSS at UL’s School of Medicine and Consultant Nephrologist, University Hospital Limerick (UHL), said: “These new findings provide an enormous opportunity to the Irish health service to identify and screen these high-risk groups for early signs of kidney damage.

“Earlier detection of kidney disease will facilitate more timely investigation and treatment, leading to better outcomes.

“There is a real chance that we can stem the tide of kidney failure and improve patient survival. Detecting disease early through an active or passive surveillance system is an effective way of preventing chronic disease, especially if the disease is common, treatable and can be detected with simple screening tests. Chronic kidney disease ticks all these boxes.

“The addition of chronic kidney disease to the Chronic Disease Management Programme of the HSE to begin in July 2025 is a major step forward in improving kidney health in Ireland,” Professor Stack added.

Welcoming the research findings, Carol Moore, CEO of the Irish Kidney Association, said: “The report is timely in that the need for early detection and management is also now being recognised at an international level.

“We are calling upon the government to endorse the World Health Organisation resolution, ‘Reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases through promotion of kidney health and strengthening prevention and control of kidney disease’ which is being brought to the World Health Assembly in May in Geneva.”