Prevalence of chronic kidney disease among adults in a rural community in South India: Results from the kidney disease screening (KIDS) project

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) appears to be increasing in India. A few studies have studied the prevalence of CKD in urban populations, but there is a paucity of such studies in the rural populations. This project was undertaken to study the prevalence of CKD among adults in a rural population near Shimoga, Karnataka and to study the risk factor profile. Door-to-door screening of 2091 people aged 18 and above was carried out. Demographic and anthropometric data were obtained, urine was analyzed for protein by dipstick and serum creatinine was measured in all participants. Glomerular filtration rate was estimated (eGFR) using the 4-variable modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) equation and Cockcroft-Gault equation corrected to the body surface area (CG-BSA). The total number of subjects studied was 2091. Mean age was 39.88 ± 15.87 years. 45.57% were males. The prevalence of proteinuria was 2.8%. CKD was seen in 131 (6.3%) subjects when GFR was estimated by MDRD equation. The prevalence of CKD was 16.54% by the CG-BSA method. There was a statistically significant relationship of CKD with gender, advancing age, abdominal obesity, smoking, presence of diabetes and hypertension. The prevalence of CKD is higher compared to the previous studies from rural India and is comparable to that in the studies from the urban Indian populations. The wide difference between the CKD prevalence between MDRD and CG-BSA equations suggests the need for a better measure of kidney function applicable to Indian population.