BACKGROUND: Data on comorbidities in children on kidney replacement therapy (KRT) are scarce. Considering their high relevance for prognosis and treatment, this study aims to analyse the prevalence and implications of comorbidities in European children on KRT. METHODS: We included data from patients <20 years of age when commencing KRT from 2007 to 2017 from 22 European countries within the European Society of Paediatric Nephrology/European Renal Association Registry. Differences between patients with and without comorbidities in access to kidney transplantation (KT) and patient and graft survival were estimated using Cox regression. RESULTS: Comorbidities were present in 33% of the 4127 children commencing KRT and the prevalence has steadily increased by 5% annually since 2007. Comorbidities were most frequent in high-income countries (43% versus 24% in low-income countries and 33% in middle-income countries). Patients with comorbidities had a lower access to transplantation {adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.67 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61-0.74]} and a higher risk of death [aHR 1.79 (95% CI 1.38-2.32)]. The increased mortality was only seen in dialysis patients [aHR 1.60 (95% CI 1.21-2.13)], and not after KT. For both outcomes, the impact of comorbidities was stronger in low-income countries. Graft survival was not affected by the presence of comorbidities [aHR for 5-year graft failure 1.18 (95% CI 0.84-1.65)]. CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidities have become more frequent in children on KRT and reduce their access to transplantation and survival, especially when remaining on dialysis. KT should be considered as an option in all paediatric KRT patients and efforts should be made to identify modifiable barriers to KT for children with comorbidities.

• Keywords
• children, chronic kidney disease, comorbidities, epidemiology, kidney transplantation,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health problem because of its high prevalence, associated complications and high treatment costs. Several aspects of CKD differ significantly in the Eastern European nephrology community compared with Western Europe because of different geographic, socio-economic, infrastructure, cultural and educational features. The two most frequent aetiologies of CKD, DM and hypertension, and many other predisposing factors, are more frequent in the Eastern region, resulting in more prevalent CKD Stages 3-5. Interventions may minimize the potential drawbacks of the high prevalence of CKD in Eastern Europe, which include several options at various stages of the disease, such as raising public, medical personnel and healthcare authorities awareness; early detection by screening high-risk populations; preventing progression and CKD-related complications by training health professionals and patients; promoting transplantation or home dialysis as the preferred modality; disseminating and implementing guidelines and guided therapy and encouraging/supporting country-specific observational research as well as international collaborative projects. Specific ways to significantly impact CKD-related problems in every region of Europe through education, science and networking are collaboration with non-nephrology European societies who have a common interest in CKD and its associated complications, representation through an advisory role within nephrology via national nephrology societies, contributing to the training of local nephrologists and stimulating patient-oriented research. The latter is mandatory to identify country-specific kidney disease-related priorities. Active involvement of patients in this research via collaboration with the European Kidney Patient Federation or national patient federations is imperative to ensure that projects reflect specific patient needs.

• Keywords
• CKD, ESRD, chronic renal failure, dialysis, kidney transplantation,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH