Changes in the epidemiology of kidney replacement therapy across Europe in 2020 - The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic : An ERA Registry study
(2024) In Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 39(11). p.1835-1845- Abstract
Background: In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused disruptions in kidney replacement therapy (KRT) services worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on the incidence of KRT, kidney transplantation activity, mortality and prevalence of KRT across Europe. Methods: Patients receiving KRT were included from 17 countries providing data to the European Renal Association Registry. The epidemiology of KRT in 2020 was compared with average data from the period 2017-2019. Changes occurring during the first and second waves of the pandemic were also explored. Results: The incidence of KRT was 6.2% lower in 2020 compared with 2017-2019, with the lowest point (-22.7%) during... (More)
Background: In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused disruptions in kidney replacement therapy (KRT) services worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on the incidence of KRT, kidney transplantation activity, mortality and prevalence of KRT across Europe. Methods: Patients receiving KRT were included from 17 countries providing data to the European Renal Association Registry. The epidemiology of KRT in 2020 was compared with average data from the period 2017-2019. Changes occurring during the first and second waves of the pandemic were also explored. Results: The incidence of KRT was 6.2% lower in 2020 compared with 2017-2019, with the lowest point (-22.7%) during the first wave in April. The decrease varied across countries, was smaller in males (-5.2%) than in females (-8.2%) and was moderate for peritoneal dialysis (-3.7%) and haemodialysis (-5.4%) but substantial for pre-emptive kidney transplantation (-23.6%). The kidney transplantation rate decreased by 22.5%, reaching a nadir of -80.1% during the first wave, and was greatest for living donor kidney transplants (-30.5%). While in most countries the kidney transplantation rate decreased, in the Nordic/Baltic countries and Greece there was no clear decrease. In dialysis patients, mortality increased by 11.4% and was highest in those 65-74 years of age (16.1%), in those with diabetes as the primary renal disease (15.1%) and in those on haemodialysis (12.4%). In transplant recipients, the mortality was 25.8% higher, but there were no subgroups that stood out. In contrast to the rising prevalence of KRT observed over the past decades across Europe, the prevalence at the end of 2020 (N = 317 787) resembled that of 2019 (N = 317 077). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the incidence of KRT, kidney transplant activity, mortality of KRT and prevalence of KRT in Europe with variations across countries.
(Less)
- author
- Kramer, Anneke
; Jager, Kitty J.
; Chesnaye, Nicholas C.
; Kerschbaum, Julia
; Hommel, Kristine
; Comas Farnés, Jordi
; Trujillo Alemán, Sara
; Santamaria, Rafael
; Finne, Patrik
; Hemmelder, Marc H.
; Åsberg, Anders
; Nitsch, Dorothea
; Ambühl, Patrice
; Sørensen, Søren S.
; Sánchez-Alvarez, J. Emilio
; Segelmark, Mårten
LU
; Resic, Halima
; Ots-Rosenberg, Mai
; Radunovic, Danilo
; Palsson, Runolfur
; Santiuste De Pablos, Carmen
; Rodríguez Arévalo, Olga L.
; Legeai, Camille
; Lausevic, Mirjana
; Bakkaloglu, Sevcan A.
; Ortiz, Alberto
and Stel, Vianda S.
(Less) - organization
- publishing date
- 2024-11-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- COVID-19, dialysis, Europe, kidney transplantation, mortality
- in
- Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
- volume
- 39
- issue
- 11
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85208204209
- pmid:38889925
- ISSN
- 0931-0509
- DOI
- 10.1093/ndt/gfae043
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s).
- id
- 40753b84-c50c-421a-a9be-321a4abb16fc
- date added to LUP
- 2024-12-18 09:16:42
- date last changed
- 2025-07-17 02:08:25
@article{40753b84-c50c-421a-a9be-321a4abb16fc,
abstract = {{<p>Background: In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused disruptions in kidney replacement therapy (KRT) services worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on the incidence of KRT, kidney transplantation activity, mortality and prevalence of KRT across Europe. Methods: Patients receiving KRT were included from 17 countries providing data to the European Renal Association Registry. The epidemiology of KRT in 2020 was compared with average data from the period 2017-2019. Changes occurring during the first and second waves of the pandemic were also explored. Results: The incidence of KRT was 6.2% lower in 2020 compared with 2017-2019, with the lowest point (-22.7%) during the first wave in April. The decrease varied across countries, was smaller in males (-5.2%) than in females (-8.2%) and was moderate for peritoneal dialysis (-3.7%) and haemodialysis (-5.4%) but substantial for pre-emptive kidney transplantation (-23.6%). The kidney transplantation rate decreased by 22.5%, reaching a nadir of -80.1% during the first wave, and was greatest for living donor kidney transplants (-30.5%). While in most countries the kidney transplantation rate decreased, in the Nordic/Baltic countries and Greece there was no clear decrease. In dialysis patients, mortality increased by 11.4% and was highest in those 65-74 years of age (16.1%), in those with diabetes as the primary renal disease (15.1%) and in those on haemodialysis (12.4%). In transplant recipients, the mortality was 25.8% higher, but there were no subgroups that stood out. In contrast to the rising prevalence of KRT observed over the past decades across Europe, the prevalence at the end of 2020 (N = 317 787) resembled that of 2019 (N = 317 077). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the incidence of KRT, kidney transplant activity, mortality of KRT and prevalence of KRT in Europe with variations across countries.</p>}},
author = {{Kramer, Anneke and Jager, Kitty J. and Chesnaye, Nicholas C. and Kerschbaum, Julia and Hommel, Kristine and Comas Farnés, Jordi and Trujillo Alemán, Sara and Santamaria, Rafael and Finne, Patrik and Hemmelder, Marc H. and Åsberg, Anders and Nitsch, Dorothea and Ambühl, Patrice and Sørensen, Søren S. and Sánchez-Alvarez, J. Emilio and Segelmark, Mårten and Resic, Halima and Ots-Rosenberg, Mai and Radunovic, Danilo and Palsson, Runolfur and Santiuste De Pablos, Carmen and Rodríguez Arévalo, Olga L. and Legeai, Camille and Lausevic, Mirjana and Bakkaloglu, Sevcan A. and Ortiz, Alberto and Stel, Vianda S.}},
issn = {{0931-0509}},
keywords = {{COVID-19; dialysis; Europe; kidney transplantation; mortality}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
number = {{11}},
pages = {{1835--1845}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
series = {{Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation}},
title = {{Changes in the epidemiology of kidney replacement therapy across Europe in 2020 - The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic : An ERA Registry study}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfae043}},
doi = {{10.1093/ndt/gfae043}},
volume = {{39}},
year = {{2024}},
}