Prevalence of Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States

Anemia is one of the many complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the current prevalence of anemia in CKD patients in the United States is not known. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2007–2008 and 2009–2010 were used to determine the prevalence of anemia in subjects with CKD. The analysis was limited to adults aged >18 who participated in both the interview and exam components of the survey. Three outcomes were assessed: the prevalence of CKD, the prevalence of anemia in subjects with CKD, and the self-reported treatment of anemia. CKD was classified into 5 stages based on the glomerular filtration rate and evidence of kidney damage, in accordance with the guidelines of the National Kidney Foundation. Anemia was defined as serum hemoglobin levels ≤12 g/dL in women and ≤13 g/dL in men. We found that an estimated 14.0% of the US adult population had CKD in 2007–2010. Anemia was twice as prevalent in people with CKD (15.4%) as in the general population (7.6%). The prevalence of anemia increased with stage of CKD, from 8.4% at stage 1 to 53.4% at stage 5. A total of 22.8% of CKD patients with anemia reported being treated for anemia within the previous 3 months–14.6% of patients at CKD stages 1–2 and 26.4% of patients at stages 3–4. These results update our knowledge of the prevalence and treatment of anemia in CKD in the United States.