Epidemiology of Kidney Disease in the Elderly

Concomitant with population aging, kidney disease incidence and prevalence among the elderly is growing globally. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases with age and is higher in women than in men. Impaired kidney function in older people is associated with adverse outcomes. Older people are more likely to die than to reach kidney replacement therapy. Discontinuation of maintenance dialysis is frequent and a leading cause of death. Kidney transplant recipients in recent years are older than in the past on average. Conservative kidney management is an alternative therapy for end-stage kidney disease, and is especially suited for older patients with multiple comorbid conditions. Elderly patients have many risk factors for developing acute kidney injury, increasing the risk of chronic kidney disease, kidney failure, and mortality. The prevalence of glomerular diseases in the elderly is growing and faces significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.