10-Year Change in the Laboratory-Based Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients from a Brazilian Cardiologic...

Background: We aim to estimate the variation in the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients from a Brazilian cardiologic center. Methods: The outpatient serum creatinine level and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) in samples from patients ≥18 years old between 2014 and 2023 were evaluated. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m². Participants were categorized into low-, moderate-, high- or very high-risk groups according to the CKD heatmap, which combines eGFR with UACR results. Results: The mean number of adults with serum creatinine results per year was 36,477 ± 7239, and the mean number of those with UACR results was 16,870 ± 4310. The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of participants with CKD increased significantly (from 20% to 31%; R² = 0.853; p < 0.001), as was the prevalence of individuals in the high or very high CKD risk groups (14% to 21%; R² = 0.945; p < 0.001). The cumulative incidence of CKD during the study period was 21.7% and was higher in females and in older age groups. Conclusions: The roughly 50% increase in the laboratory-based CKD prevalence over 10 years underscores the need for healthcare services to adapt to managing a population with growing complexity and a heightened risk of requiring kidney replacement therapy.