Sex and gender disparities in the epidemiology and outcomes of chronic kidney disease

Nature Reviews Nephrology volume 14, pages151–164(2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Key Points

  • The proportion of women with predialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) is higher than that of men; this difference is likely due to the longer life expectancy of women and possibly to CKD overdiagnosis with use of estimated glomerular filtration rate equations

  • Kidney function declines faster in men than women, possibly owing to unhealthier lifestyles in men and the protective effects of oestrogens or the damaging effects of testosterone

  • More men than women start renal replacement therapy (RRT) not only owing to faster CKD progression in men but also because elderly women are more likely to choose conservative care

  • Mortality is higher among men at all levels of predialysis CKD, whereas mortality among individuals on RRT is similar for men and women

  • Women have reduced access to deceased donor transplantation compared with men, likely owing to higher levels of preformed antibodies, whereas access to living donor kidney transplantation in some countries seems equal

  • The perceived health-related quality of life of women on RRT is poorer than that of men, and women report a higher symptom burden and greater symptom severity than men

Abstract

Improved understanding of sex and gender-specific differences in the aetiology, mechanisms and epidemiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD) could help nephrologists better address the needs of their patients. Population-based studies indicate that CKD epidemiology differs by sex, affecting more women than men, especially with regard to stage G3 CKD. The effects of longer life expectancy on the natural decline of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with age, as well as potential overdiagnosis of CKD through the inappropriate use of GFR equations, might be in part responsible for the greater prevalence of CKD in women. Somewhat paradoxically, there seems to be a preponderance of men among patients starting renal replacement therapy (RRT); the protective effects of oestrogens in women and/or the damaging effects of testosterone, together with unhealthier lifestyles, might cause kidney function to decline faster in men than in women. Additionally, elderly women seem to be more inclined to choose conservative care instead of RRT. Dissimilarities between the sexes are also apparent in the outcomes of CKD. In patients with predialysis CKD, mortality is higher in men than women; however, this difference disappears for patients on RRT. Although access to living donor kidneys among men and women seems equal, women have reduced access to deceased donor transplantation. Lastly, health-related quality of life while on RRT is poorer in women than men, and women report a higher burden of symptoms. These findings provide insights into differences in the underlying pathophysiology of disease as well as societal factors that can be addressed to reduce disparities in access to care and outcomes for patients with CKD.

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Figure 1: Sex differences in the prevalence of CKD.
Figure 2: Hazard ratios of all-cause mortality according to estimated glomerular filtration rate by sex.
Figure 3: Sex and gender disparities in the epidemiology and outcomes of CKD.
Figure 4: Differences in quality of life domains between men and women on dialysis.
Figure 5: Causes of death among men and women on dialysis.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank P. Trocchi (Universitätsklinikum Essen, Germany) for providing sex-specific statistics from Germany and F. K. Port (Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA), as well as T. Stamm, G. Böhmig and G. Bond (all from Medical University of Vienna, Austria) for their helpful comments and revisions to this work. J.J.C. acknowledges grant support from the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation and the Westman and Rind foundations. N.C.C. and K.J.J. acknowledge grant support from the European Renal Association–European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA).

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Centre for Gender Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels Väg 12A, BOX 281, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden

    Juan Jesus Carrero

  2. Department of Internal Medicine III, Clinical Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, Vienna, 1090, Austria

    Manfred Hecking

  3. Department of Medical Informatics, European Renal Association–European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) Registry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, 1105AZ, Netherlands

    Nicholas C. Chesnaye & Kitty J. Jager

Authors
  1. Juan Jesus Carrero
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  2. Manfred Hecking
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  3. Nicholas C. Chesnaye
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  4. Kitty J. Jager
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Contributions

All authors contributed equally to researching the data for the article, discussing its content and writing and editing the manuscript before submission.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Juan Jesus Carrero or Kitty J. Jager.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Glossary

Kt/V

The preferred method for measuring the dialysis dose; defined as the dialyser clearance of urea (K) multiplied by the duration of the dialysis treatment (t, in minutes) divided by the volume of distribution of urea in the body (V, in ml), which is approximately equal to total body water, corrected for volume lost during ultrafiltration.

Prevalent dialysis patients

All patients treated by dialysis at a particular moment in time.

Incident dialysis patients

Patients starting dialysis for the first time.

HLA sensitization

Formation of alloantibodies against HLA antigens.

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Carrero, J., Hecking, M., Chesnaye, N. et al. Sex and gender disparities in the epidemiology and outcomes of chronic kidney disease. Nat Rev Nephrol 14, 151–164 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2017.181

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