White/black racial differences in risk of end-stage renal disease and death.
BACKGROUND
End-stage renal disease disproportionately affects black persons, but it is unknown when in the course of chronic kidney disease racial differences arise. Understanding the natural history of racial differences in kidney disease may help guide efforts to reduce disparities.


METHODS
We compared white/black differences in the risk of end-stage renal disease and death by level of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline in a national sample of 2,015,891 veterans between 2001 and 2005.


RESULTS
Rates of end-stage renal disease among black patients exceeded those among white patients at all levels of baseline eGFR. The adjusted hazard ratios for end-stage renal disease associated with black versus white race for patients with an eGFR > or = 90, 60-89, 45-59, 30-44, 15-29, and <15 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively, were 2.14 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.72-2.65), 2.30 (95% CI, 2.02-2.61), 3.08 (95% CI, 2.74-3.46), 2.47 (95% CI, 2.26-2.70), 1.86 (95% CI, 1.75-1.98), and 1.23 (95% CI, 1.12-1.34). We observed a similar pattern for mortality, with equal or higher rates of death among black persons at all levels of eGFR. The highest risk of mortality associated with black race also was observed among those with an eGFR 45-59 mL/min/1.73 m2 (hazard ratio 1.32, 95% CI, 1.27-1.36).


CONCLUSIONS
Racial differences in the risk of end-stage renal disease appear early in the course of kidney disease and are not explained by a survival advantage among blacks. Efforts to identify and slow progression of chronic kidney disease at earlier stages may be needed to reduce racial disparities.
Choi
Andy I
AI
Department of Medicine, San Francisco Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA. andy.choi@ucsf.edu
Rodriguez
Rudolph A
RA
Bacchetti
Peter
P
Bertenthal
Daniel
D
Hernandez
German T
GT
O'Hare
Ann M
AM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult