Social Determinants of Health and Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

In the United States, chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains a concern to the health of 37 million adults. Prevention is key to combatting this disease before it is able to progress into its advanced stages or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Awareness of the clinical early detection of CKD is important for healthcare providers, but a look at the causes of this disease can provide for greater evaluation of the patient's risks. Understanding of social determinants of health (SDOH), the non-clinical aspects of a patient's life that affect disease onset and progression, and its effects on CKD and ESRD should be greater emphasized in the primary care field. Population groups living with relatively poorer SDOH are disproportionally affected by CKD and ESRD. Although political change is out of the scope of the primary care health provider, efforts in combatting poor social determinants can provide for better outcomes for at-risk or diagnosed patients. Education and screening are two suggestions brought up in literature for tackling SDOH, specifically in the primary care settings most applicable to CKD.