A new Lancet study led by University of Glasgow flags CKD as the 9th leading cause of death globally, urging early detection and prevention in India's fight against this "silent" disease.
India had the world's second-highest number of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in 2023, with an estimated 138 million adults affected by the condition. Health experts note that CKD has become a major public health concern for India, mirroring global trends that have seen the disease climb to the ninth leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for 1.48 million lives annually. Early stages of CKD are often symptom-free, meaning many Indians may remain unaware of their condition until it progresses.
The Global Burden of Disease 2023 study, led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with US and global health institutes, reveals that CKD cases have surged globally over the past three decades. The number of people living with CKD worldwide rose from 378 million in 1990 to 788 million in 2023. This means the global age-standardised prevalence of CKD in adults was 14.2%. Some regions are disproportionately affected - for instance, South Asia (which includes India) has an average adult CKD prevalence of 15.8%, among the highest in the world. Beyond its direct toll, chronic kidney disease also significantly amplifies the risk of cardiovascular disease. Impaired kidney function was linked to 11.5% of all heart-related deaths globally in 2023, ranking CKD as the 7th leading contributor to cardiovascular mortality
Medical experts are urging urgent steps to counter this growing crisis through better prevention, detection, and public awareness.
Professor Patrick Mark, co-lead author of the study, stated that "the rising number of people with chronic kidney disease should be a wake-up call for governments and health systems to address this issue by considering screening strategies and increasing public awareness of chronic kidney disease." He recommends implementing routine CKD screening programs and increasing public awareness about the disease.
As early CKD often has no symptoms, routine screening of at-risk individuals (such as those with diabetes or high blood pressure) can help catch the disease sooner. Treatments for CKD have improved dramatically in the past decade, and early intervention can slow disease progression and prevent progression to more severe stages requiring dialysis or transplant. Global health bodies have begun to take note: the United Nations now recognises CKD as a major health challenge, and in May 2025, the World Health Organisation added CKD to its agenda for reducing premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by one-third by 2030.
Greater recognition of CKD's impact - alongside diseases like cancer and heart disease - will spur stronger policy action, screening programmes, and public health initiatives to curb the burden of kidney disease in India and worldwide.
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