Kidney failure affects around ten per cent of the American population

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Nearly one in ten Americans has a family history of kidney failure, and these people are at increased risk of the disease.
Kidney failure - sometimes known as end-stage renal disease - is known to run in families. A new study from Emory University, Atlanta, now reveals just how many Americans have relatives with kidney failure.

The research team looked at a group of over 12,000 black and white Americans aged 45 or more and asked if they had relatives with kidney failure. Around ten per cent reported kidney failure in a first degree relative - that is, a parent, sibling or child. Having a family history of kidney failure was twice as common among African-Americans as among whites. Having a family history of kidney failure was also linked with higher rates of high blood glucose and obesity, which increase the risk of kidney disease. African-Americans, in particular, were more at risk of developing kidney failure themselves if they had a relative with the condition.

Kidney failure is on the increase and one in five of those starting dialysis report having a family member with the same problem. The findings suggest that when a patient is identified as having kidney failure, their family members should be checked out to see if there are ways in which their own risk can be reduced or prevented.

Source
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology April 2007

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