Social vulnerability and chronic kidney disease-associated mortality in the United States: 1999-2020

While significant sociodemographic disparities in the burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are well established, less is known about how area-level socioeconomic status interacts with these disparities.

This study used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Database for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER) Underlying Cause of Death Database to identify deaths from CKD among people aged 45 and older in the United States from 1999-2020. We used county-level Social Vulnerability Index data to examine the relationship between Social Vulnerability Index and CKD-associated mortality for the overall population and for sociodemographic subgroups.

The age-adjusted mortality rate for the overall population was 73.56 (95% CI 67.74-79.39). Mortality from CKD was significantly higher in the 4th quartile of Social Vulnerability Index, representing the most vulnerable areas (age-adjusted mortality rate = 81.39, 95% CI 75.77-87.00), compared to the 1st quartile, representing the least vulnerable areas (age-adjusted mortality rate = 66.07, 95% CI 59.02-73.12). For both the overall population and all sociodemographic subgroups, higher Social Vulnerability Index was associated with a higher risk of CKD-associated mortality. Within each Social Vulnerability Index quartile, Black Americans and males had higher CKD-associated mortality than White Americans and females, respectively.

The burden of CKD-associated mortality in the United States is rising, with people living in more socially vulnerable counties facing a higher risk of CKD death. Racial disparities in CKD-associated mortality persist even within counties of similar social vulnerability, indicating the urgent need to address these health disparities.