Genetic factors in African Americans with chronic kidney disease (CKD) put them at a greater risk for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) compared to white Americans, according to a new study released in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland contributed data from two separate studies: the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) and the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study (CRIC).
Both studies identified high risk genetic variants in the APOL1 gene that speed up kidney disease progression and substantially increase the risk of developing kidney failure, compared to whites and blacks with low risk variants, with or without diabetes. Approximately 1 in 10 blacks possess the high risk variants, though it is very uncommon in whites.
Read the full, original story here: Gene Puts African-Americans At Higher Risk For Kidney Failure