A Higher Percentage of Asian, Black, and Hispanic Patients With Kidney Disease Receive Kidney-Related Care Compared With White Patients

However, they had similar or lower percentages for blood pressure and diabetes control.

From 2012 to 2019, in the population of privately insured US adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the percentage receiving kidney-related care was higher among Asian, Black, and Hispanic patients compared with White patients, according to a CDC study in JAMA Network Openexternal icon. However, about 1 in 2 patients with CKD had diabetes under control and a lower percentage of Black patients had met their blood pressure target compared with the other groups.

Data were analyzed from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse, a national data set of administrative and electronic health record data for commercially insured and Medicare Advantage patients, to examine guideline-recommended CKD care delivery by race or ethnicity in a large, diverse population.

Researchers looked at several measures of kidney care in addition to blood pressure and diabetes (as measured by hemoglobin A1C) control. They reported the following percentages in 2018–2019 in Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White patients:

*Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (medicines that reduce protein in the urine in addition to lowering blood pressure); BP=blood pressure.

Improving blood pressure and diabetes control will help slow CKD progression to kidney failure. In addition to managing diabetes and blood pressure, it is also important to manage cholesterol levels because these are all risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Learn more about how to live well with CKD and prevent kidney complications.