Trends in chronic kidney disease awareness and related clinical and demographic characteristics from 1998 to 2018 in Koreans

Purpose Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common and growing problem in Korea. Although CKD awareness is the first step in CKD management, evidence indicates that the rate of CKD awareness is unsatisfactory worldwide. Thus, we investigated the trend of CKD awareness for CKD patients in Korea. Methods Through analyzing data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHAES) in 1998, 2001, 2007–2008, 2011–2013, and 2016–2018, we evaluated the rate of CKD awareness according to CKD stage in each phase of KNHANES. Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were compared between CKD awareness and unawareness groups. Multivariate regression analysis was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for CKD awareness [adjusted OR (95% CI)] in given socioeconomic and clinical factors. Results The overall awareness rate of CKD stage 3 remained at low levels of less than 6.0% through all phases of KNHAES except that of V–VI. In particular, CKD awareness was remarkably low in stage 3 CKD. Compared to CKD unawareness group, CKD awareness group was of young age, higher income, higher education, more medical aid, higher prevalence of comorbidities, and more advanced CKD. In multivariate analysis, CKD awareness was significantly associated with age [0.94 (0.91–0.96)], medical aid [3.23 (1.44–7.28)], proteinuria [0.27 (0.11–0.69)], and renal function [0.90 (0.88–0.93)]. Conclusion CKD awareness has been consistently low in Korea. This trend warrants the special endeavor to promote CKD awareness in Korea.