Incidence and prevalence of kidney replacement therapy in Central and Eastern Europe -trends from the ERA registry

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Kidney replacement therapy (KRT) practices in Europe are heterogeneous, with apparent differences between Western and Central/Eastern Europe. However, time trends in KRT incidence and prevalence in Central and Eastern Europe are not previously reported. Therefore, we aimed to describe trends in incidence and prevalence of KRT in Central and Eastern Europe from 2010 to 2021.

METHODS: Data on incident and prevalent KRT patients from 19 Central and Eastern European countries between the years 2010 and 2021 were derived from the European Renal Association (ERA) Registry. Time trends were calculated using JoinPoint regression.

RESULTS: Overall, KRT incidence increased with 1.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): +0.7 to + 2.6%) per year from 106.3 per million population (pmp) in 2010 to 119.6 pmp in 2019. However, trends differed within the region. While in Bosnia and Herzegovina KRT incidence significantly decreased from 2010 to 2019, it remained stable in nine and increased in eight countries. The overall KRT prevalence increased with 5.1% (95% CI: +4.5 to + 5.7%) per year from 426.2 pmp in 2010 to 651.2 pmp in 2019. KRT prevalence increased in all countries, except for Belarus where it remained stable, and was mainly attributable to increases in the prevalence of kidney transplantation. The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a major impact on KRT incidence and prevalence in the region, as most trends remained until 2021.

CONCLUSIONS: Although we found an overall increase in KRT incidence and prevalence in the region, large country variations remain, much larger than observed in Western Europe. The results of this study can help to define country-specific priorities for the optimization of KRT care in Central and Eastern Europe.