Benchmarking CKD: incidence of CKD in a European country with low prevalence of CKD and kidney replacement therapy

Iceland was one of six European countries with an adjusted incidence of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) in 2018 lower than 100 per million persons (pmp), along with Estonia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Finland. It was also one of 10 countries with an adjusted KRT prevalence <900 pmp. Furthermore, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Iceland is up to 2.44-fold lower and the death rate from CKD up to 3.44-fold lower than in other countries with a low incidence of KRT, suggesting that the low KRT incidence actually reflects a low need for KRT rather than low uptake or availability of KRT. This identifies Iceland as a benchmark for countries trying to reduce KRT incidence. Iceland also represents one of the best genetically characterized populations in the world, facilitating studies on the influence of the genetic background versus environment and lifestyle on CKD. This issue of CKJ reports the incidence and risk factors for CKD in Icelandic adults. Diabetes, acute kidney injury, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, malignancy and major psychiatric illness were associated with an increased risk of incident CKD, as were obesity and sleep apnea in women. However, in 75% of incident CKD cases, CKD was first detected in category G3 or higher, emphasizing the need for new tools that allow an earlier diagnosis of CKD that precedes the loss of >50% of the functioning kidney mass and/or wider use of albuminuria as a screening tool. The European Society of Cardiology just recommended assessing albuminuria for routine cardiovascular risk workups for all.