Etiological profile of chronic kidney disease: A single-center retrospective hospital-based study

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the leading causes of chronic diseases globally, with rising incidence and prevalence. It is a major risk factor for cerebrovascular disease and coronary artery disease, which are the main causes of death in this population. The etiology of CKD is varied. This study was performed to evaluate the various etiologies of CKD among patients presenting to the Department of Nephrology, Guwahati Medical College, a tertiary referral center. A total of 5718 CKD patients were evaluated to identify the cause of CKD. The most common cause was found to be diabetes mellitus in 42.2%, followed by chronic glomerulonephritis in 21.4%, hypertension in 19.5%, obstructive uropathy in 6.9%, chronic interstitial nephritis in 3.6%, and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease in 1.5% of the patients. Nearly 2.7% of the patients had CKD of unknown etiology. Most of the common causes of CKD are potentially treatable and initiating appropriate treatment early may prevent the development of CKD or progression to end-stage renal disease.