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One of UK’s largest observational studies of incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) in general practice gets underway this month, with 3,205 Oxfordshire residents involved.
Over the next two years, the New onset Kidney Impairment (NewKI) study will work with 13 Oxfordshire GP surgeries to investigate how people over the age of 60 progress from mild to more severe forms of CKD. This could help doctors to better identify and treat those at risk.
The NewKI study is managed by Oxford University’s Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the NIHR School for Primary Care Research.
Kidney function declines slowly with age, and around 1 in 10 people have mild chronic kidney disease. Recognised as an international health issue by the World Health Organisation and responsible for 850,000 deaths globally, CKD is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, heart failure and sudden death.
However, very little is known about how many people in the UK have CKD, or the factors that increase someone’s risk of developing the condition and progressing onto more severe forms of kidney decline.
The first phase of the research programme started in November 2013 and set out to uncover the incidence of CKD in the over 60s. Having generated more than 16 million pieces of data, the research team now aims to follow-up with 90% of the 3,205 participants to see how their disease progresses.
Dr Clare Taylor, a GP and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said: “There’s a real need for patients and clinicians to have more information about CKD. Only by understanding the disease can we provide better education about what CKD means for patients to help them to manage their condition day-to-day.
“The NewKI study will provide information on CKD which could enable GPs to identify those with the condition earlier so the risk of mild CKD progressing to a more severe form can be managed.”
Chief Investigator Professor Richard Hobbs (left), from Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, and the NIHR Oxford BRC’s Theme Lead for Multi-morbidity and Long-term Conditions, said: “This study will help us to see how many new people are diagnosed with CKD, what happens over an extended period of time to those with mild CKD, and what treatments improve, or stop the worsening of kidney function.
“I’m grateful that we have such an engaged and supportive research team in the community working with us is on this study, and by the end we’ll have an extensive dataset that will help us to answer important new questions.”