Women Face Lower Odds of Diagnosis, Appropriate Management of CKD

TUESDAY, Aug. 9, 2022 (HealthDay News) — There are sex-related differences in the detection, recognition, monitoring, referrals, and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published online July 29 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Oskar Swartling, M.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues assessed sex differences in CKD using data from 227,847 adults with probable CKD (at least one outpatient estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min per 1.73 m² measurement from 2009 to 2017).

The researchers found that women had lower odds of having received a diagnostic code for CKD and were less likely to have received a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor and statins, despite the presence of guideline-recommended indications. Regardless of disease severity, presence of albuminuria, or criteria for referral, women were found to be less likely to have received a CKD diagnosis (hazard ratio, 0.43) and visited a nephrologist (hazard ratio, 0.46). Even among women with diabetes or hypertension, women were also less likely to undergo monitoring of creatinine or albuminuria. When adjusting for comorbidities, albuminuria, and highest educational achievement and among individuals with confirmed CKD at retesting, sex-related associations persisted. Despite improvements in nephrology-care indicators over time, the observed sex gap persisted.

“Efforts to improve and ensure equitable health care between the sexes could have important implications for justice and could reduce the burden of CKD,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.