Sheng Nie

Importance: To our knowledge, there has been no update on the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in China since 2012. Objective: To provide periodic nationwide data on the prevalence of CKD and the associated behavioral and metabolic risk factors in China. Design, Setting, and Participants: This nationally representative cross-sectional study included data from 176 874 adults from all 31 provincial-level administrative divisions in mainland China, as reported in the sixth China Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance conducted from August 2018 to June 2019. Data analysis was performed in 2021 to 2022. Exposures: Serum creatinine, urinal creatinine, and urine albumin were measured for all participants. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated from serum creatinine using the CKD-EPI equation. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was weighted prevalence of CKD in the overall population and different strata, defined as presence of impaired kidney function (eGFR of <60 mL/min/1.73m2) or albuminuria (urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio of ≥30 mg/g). Secondary outcomes were awareness of CKD and control of comorbidities. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of sociodemographic characteristics, behavioral and dietary habits, physical activity, and comorbidities with CKD. Results: A total of 184 876 participants contributed data to this study, and of the 176 874 adults 18 years and older with measurements of eGFR and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio in 2018 to 2019, the mean age was 43.8 years and the weighted proportion of women was 44.6%. The estimated prevalence of CKD, impaired kidney function, and albuminuria were 8.2%, 2.2%, and 6.7%, respectively. A higher prevalence of CKD was observed in the subgroups characterized by older age, female gender, non-Han ethnicity, residency of rural or north and central parts of China, receiving less education or lower income, former smoking, no alcohol drinking, lacking physical activity, and presence of risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and self-reported cardiovascular disease. Among the adults with CKD, 73.3%, 25.0%, and 1.8% were at stage 1 to 2, 3, and 4 to 5, respectively, and the awareness of CKD was 10.0%. Conclusions and Relevance: This cross-sectional study found a weighted estimated of 82 million adults with CKD in China in 2018 to 2019. The prevalence appears to have decreased by 30% in the past decade. Better environmental protection, integration of CKD into the national public health surveillance program, and control of common CKD comorbidities appear to be associated with reducing the disease burden of CKD.

The effect of air pollution on the changing pattern of glomerulopathy has not been studied. We estimated the profile of and temporal change in glomerular diseases in an 11-year renal biopsy series including 71,151 native biopsies at 938 hospitals spanning 282 cities in China from 2004 to 2014, and examined the association of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter of &lt;2.5 μ m (PM 2.5 ) with glomerulopathy. After age and region standardization, we identified IgA nephropathy as the leading type of glomerulopathy, with a frequency of 28.1%, followed by membranous nephropathy (MN), with a frequency of 23.4%. Notably, the adjusted odds for MN increased 13% annually over the 11-year study period, whereas the proportions of other major glomerulopathies remained stable. During the study period, 3-year average PM 2.5 exposure varied among the 282 cities, ranging from 6 to 114 μ g/m 3 (mean, 52.6 μ g/m 3 ). Each 10 μ g/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 concentration associated with 14% higher odds for MN (odds ratio, 1.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.10 to 1.18) in regions with PM 2.5 concentration &gt;70 μ g/m 3 . We also found that higher 3-year average air quality index was associated with increased risk of MN. In conclusion, in this large renal biopsy series, the frequency of MN increased over the study period, and long-term exposure to high levels of PM 2.5 was associated with an increased risk of MN.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Comprehensive epidemiologic data on AKI are particularly lacking in Asian countries. This study sought to assess the epidemiology and clinical correlates of AKI among hospitalized adults in China. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of 659,945 hospitalized adults from a wide range of clinical settings in nine regional central hospitals across China in 2013. AKI was defined and staged according to Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. The incidence of AKI in the cohort was estimated using a novel two-step approach with adjustment for the frequency of serum creatinine tests and other potential confounders. Risk factor profiles for hospital-acquired (HA) and community-acquired (CA) AKI were examined. The in-hospital outcomes of AKI, including mortality, renal recovery, length of stay, and daily cost, were assessed. RESULTS: The incidence of CA-AKI and HA-AKI was 2.5% and 9.1%, respectively, giving rise to an overall incidence of 11.6%. Although the risk profiles for CA-AKI and HA-AKI differed, preexisting CKD was a major risk factor for both, contributing to 20% of risk in CA-AKI and 12% of risk in HA-AKI. About 40% of AKI cases were possibly drug-related and 16% may have been induced by Chinese traditional medicines or remedies. The in-hospital mortality of AKI was 8.8%. The risk of in-hospital death was higher among patients with more severe AKI. Preexisting CKD and need for intensive care unit admission were associated with higher death risk in patients at any stage of AKI. Transiency of AKI did not modify the risk of in-hospital death. AKI was associated with longer length of stay and higher daily costs, even after adjustment for confounders. CONCLUSION: AKI is common in hospitalized adults in China and is associated with significantly higher in-hospital mortality and resource utilization.