Getting to know the enemy better-the global burden of chronic kidney disease.

A good understanding of disease burden is the first step in formulating a response to it. Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease 2016 dataset shows an 87% rise in the global burden of chronic kidney disease and a doubling of chronic kidney disease deaths between 1990 and 2016. Countries with a lower level of socioeconomic development and poorer access to quality health care experience a higher chronic kidney disease burden. Reductions in global disability-adjusted life-years over time indicate progress, but deviations from this trend in some geographies present a call to action.