[Kidney disease in Colombia: Priority for risk management]

Objective To describe the demographic and clinical manifestations of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), arterial hypertension, and/or diabetes mellitus, and to determine the association between the presence of these pathologies and the development of CKD. Methods Analytic and cross-sectional study. The information, with a cutoff date of 30 June 2013, comes from the integrated database of CKD and patients with hypertension and diabetes, which the Colombian payer entities provided to the national fund for high-cost diseases (Cuenta de Alto Costo). A descriptive analysis was conducted and the prevalence of CKD and stage 5 CKD was determined. Crude odds ratios (OR) were used to determine the association between CKD and age, sex, and diabetes. Results 2,599,419 records were analyzed, of which 40% corresponded to people with CKD. Overall, 74.9% of the population had hypertension and 6.4% had diabetes. The prevalence of CKD was 2.81%, with 94.3% of patients in stages 1 to 3. In patients with diabetes, the risk of presenting CKD is 1.03 (confidence interval of 95% [CI95%] 1.016-1.043). Among persons over 60 years of age, the risk of CKD is 2.15 (CI95% 2.140-2.167). Conclusions 33.4% of patients with hypertension or diabetes have not been studied to determine the presence or absence of CKD. It is a priority to implement strategies for secondary and primary prevention in order to prevent the progression of CKD and reduce the prevalence of risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes.