Burden of disease - prevalence and incidence of renal disease in India.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) burden is increasing worldwide. In developing countries like India, limited financial resources and lack of infrastructure put a severe strain on existing health policies in the light of the increasing burden of CKD. The exact prevalence of CKD in India is not known due to lack of adequate data recording systems both in the Government and insurance sectors. Recently with the support of the Indian society of Nephrology, a CKD registry has been formed with the hope of generating adequate information about CKD patients in India. Here we have reviewed various published studies on the magnitude of CKD in India. Three studies which have been carried out in different parts of India have been reviewed to examine the prevalence of CKD, which ranges from 0.79% to 1.4%. The incidence of End Stage Renal Disease was estimated to be 181 per million population in 2005 in central India. Many more such efforts are needed across our country in order to determine the exact burden of CKD.