BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

In the United States, relatively little is known about clinical outcomes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in vulnerable populations utilizing public health systems. The primary study objectives were to describe patient characteristics, incident ESRD, and mortality in adults with nondialysis-dependent CKD receiving care in the health care safety net.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS:

Time to ESRD and time to death were examined among a cohort of 15,353 ambulatory adults with nondialysis-dependent CKD from the Community Health Network of San Francisco.

RESULTS:

The mean age of the CKD cohort was 59.0 +/- 13.8 years; 50% of the cohort was younger than 60 years and 26% was younger than 50 years. Most (72%) were members of nonwhite racial-ethnic groups, 73% were indigent (annual income <$15,000) and 18% were uninsured. In adjusted analyses, blacks [hazard ratio (95% confidence interval), 4.00 (2.99 to 5.35)], Hispanics [2.20 (1.46 to 3.30)], and Asians/Pacific Islanders [3.84 (2.73 to 5.40)] had higher risks of progression to ESRD than non-Hispanic whites. The higher risk of progression to ESRD among nonwhite compared with white persons with CKD was not explained by lower relative mortality.

CONCLUSIONS:

Adults with CKD stages 3 to 5 cared for within an urban public health system were relatively young and predominantly nonwhite-both factors associated with a higher risk of progression to ESRD. These findings call for targeted efforts to assess the burden and progression of CKD within other public and safety-net health systems in this country.