Chronic Kidney Disease: Epidemiology Report and Forecast to 2035

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), or chronic renal disease (International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision [ICD-10] code = N18), is a condition characterized by a gradual loss of kidney function over time. This leads to the accumulation of excess fluid and waste in the body. In the early stages, CKD is a largely asymptomatic condition. As the disease progresses, symptoms worsen and eventually lead to kidney failure (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). Advanced CKD can lead to dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes, and waste accumulating in the body (Bentall, 2025). The glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a key measure of kidney function, is determined by the amount of creatinine in the blood. The Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) classification system is considered the standard for GFR measurement and the diagnosis of CKD (Levin et al., 2013).

In the 7MM, the total prevalent cases of CKD are expected to increase from 118,878,006 cases in 2025 to 129,339,791 cases in 2035, at an annual growth rate (AGR) of 0.88%. In 2035, the US will have the highest number of total prevalent cases of CKD in the 7MM, with 44,637,257 cases, and Italy will have the fewest total prevalent cases of CKD with 3,866,846 cases. The diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD are expected to increase from 23,472,472 cases in 2025 to 25,418,095 cases in 2035, at an AGR of 0.83%. In 2035, Japan will have the highest number of diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD in the 7MM, with 5,852,016 cases, and Italy will have the fewest diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD with 957,683 cases. The analyst epidemiologists attribute the increase in the total and diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD to changes in population dynamics and the diagnosis rate in each market.

Scope

• This report provides an overview of the risk factors, comorbidities, and global and historical trends for CKD in the seven major pharmaceutical markets (7MM: US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and Japan).
• It includes a 10-year epidemiological forecast for the total prevalent cases and diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD. The total and diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD are further segmented by age (18-29 years, 30-39 years, and by 10-year age groups up to 80 years and older), sex, and stage (stage I, stage II, stage IIIa, stage IIIb, stage IV, and stage V).
• The diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD are also segmented by dialysis-dependent (including both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis) and non-dialysis dependent. The model associated with this report also provides the diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD by comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease [CVD]).
• This epidemiology forecast for CKD is supported by data obtained from peer-reviewed articles and population-based studies. The forecast methodology was kept consistent across 7MM to allow for a meaningful comparison of the forecasted diagnosed prevalent cases of CKD across these markets.