The number of patients with kidney disease in Japan is increasing each year, and as of the end of 2006, ~ 260,000 patients were receiving dialysis therapy, indicating that the disease has a significant impact on public health. However, compared with preventive measures for lifestyle-related diseases and kidney failure, such as dialysis and transplantation, prevention of chronic kidney disease (CKD) exacerbation has not been clarified as a target of these measures. Therefore, since October 2007, “The Kidney Disease Control Commission Meeting” examined the ideal measures against kidney diseases in Japan. The results were summarized as “Ideal kidney disease measures in the future”, which indicate the future direction of measures against kidney disease with the following goals: “to prevent aggravation of renal function abnormality and to arrest progression that leads to the introduction of dialysis due to chronic renal failure”, and “to suppress the development of cardiovascular diseases, such as cerebrovascular disease and myocardial infarction, associated with CKD”.
Through the measures implemented in the subsequent 10 years, steady changes were achieved, including a decrease in the age-adjusted rate of new dialysis introduction; however, the number of patients receiving dialysis has not yet shown a decreasing trend. The number of patients with kidney disease resulting from lifestyle-related diseases is expected to continue to increase in the future as the population ages.
Therefore, the first “Kidney Disease Control Commission Meeting” was held in December 2017 to promote measures against kidney disease and examine the future direction of measures against kidney disease over the course of four meetings. This commission aims to prevent CKD exacerbation through early detection and diagnosis of CKD based on few subjective symptoms, to implement and continue appropriate high-quality treatment, and to maintain and improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients with CKD, including those receiving dialysis and kidney transplant. The activities identified for future implementation are organized into each of the following five categories: “raising public awareness”, “improving regional health care provisions”, “improving the level of medical care”, “developing human resources”, and “promoting research and development”. In addition, key performance indicators (KPIs) are set to reduce the number of new dialysis patients to ≤ 35,000 by 2028. The contents of these discussions at the “Kidney Disease Control Commission Meeting” are summarized as a meeting report described herein.
This report is expected to contribute to the wider recognition of the importance of measures against kidney disease. Moreover, the public awareness of CKD is anticipated to improve among patients and their families, healthcare workers, and government agencies such that the measures against kidney disease are implemented.