Kidney function estimate among subjects aged 18-59 years in Tubarão, Santa Catarina: a population-based study

Among the increasing chronic degenerative diseases, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health challenge facing the 21st century.

To estimate the GFR by using the CKD-EPI formula among subjects aged 18-59 years, and to identify factors associated with glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted on adults between November 2011 and March 2012. We collected sociodemographic, anthropometric, clinical, and laboratory tests to build a database. The Pearson's chi-square test was used to assess the association between variables, and the Student's t -test was used for mean comparison at 95% confidence level.

A cohort of 371 adults was surveyed (63.8% women; 86.3% Whites). The mean age was 40.4 years (SD ± 12.3). Of the total, 76.8% had normal GFR; 21.8% showed a slight decline, 1.1% a moderate decline, and 0.3% a significant decline in GFR. There were significant differences related to age and obesity, because the greater the age or the higher the body mass index, the lower the GFR of participants. Individuals with systemic hypertension showed a tendency towards a reduction in GFR compared to non-hypertensive population (p < 0.06).

This study concluded that the vast majority of the surveyed subjects had normal GFR levels, and that only 1.4% (95% CI: 0.3 - 2.4) had moderate or severe dysfunction.