Awareness of Proteinuria in the Community Setting: KDSAP Results

Boston—The Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program (KDSAP), working to increase early detection and improve awareness of kidney disease, provides free screening and education in the community setting. Proteinuria is an independent predictor of adverse clinical outcomes, yet due to the asymptomatic nature of proteinuria, early recognition is difficult; most individuals with proteinuria are not aware they have this condition.

Researchers, led by Min Zhuo, MD, collected and analyzed KDSAP data from October 2011 to May 2018. Two questions were used to assess awareness of proteinuria: (1) Have you ever had protein in the urine? and (2) Do you have kidney disease?. Proteinuria awareness was defined as participants with trace or more protein on urine dipstick who answered yes to either of the two questions. Results of the analysis were reported during a poster session at the NKF Spring Clinical Meetings in a poster titled Degree of Proteinuria and Hematuria, as well as Ethnicity Are the Factors Predicting Awareness of Proteinuria in the Community: Results from Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program (KDSAP).

Of the 2432 KDSAP participants, 20% (n=461) had proteinuria. The overall awareness of proteinuria was 15.8% (n=67). Participants who were unaware of proteinuria were younger, more likely to be African American, have less self-reported family history of kidney disease and comorbidities, less microscopic hematuria, and milder proteinuria. There was an association between those with mild proteinuria (defined as tract or +1 proteinuria) and lower awareness (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-4.18). There was an association between African American race and less awareness of proteinuria (adjusted OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.69).

“Most KDSAP participants with proteinuria were unaware of the condition. Milder proteinuria, absence of microscopic hematuria, and African American [race] were associated with low proteinuria awareness,” the researchers said.

Source: Zhuo M, Song R, Mothi S, et al. Degree of proteinuria and hematuria, as well as ethnicity are the factors predicting awareness of proteinuria in the community: Results from Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program (KDSAP). Abstract of a poster presented at the National Kidney Foundation 2019 Spring Clinical Meetings, May 8-12, 2019, Boston, Massachusetts.