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Incidence of End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD), by Primary Diagnosis

This indicator gives the breakdown, by primary diagnosis, of all patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) who began renal replacement therapy (RRT) for the first time in the calendar year.

Increasing incidence rates over time have important implications for resources, disease management and the need for kidney donation.

Data updated:
Data availability: to (calendar years)
Geographic coverage
All provinces/territories except Quebec
Reporting level
Province/Territory
Calculation

Counts and rates are based on patients registered during a given calendar year in a Canadian facility. Patients who began RRT for ESKD outside of Canada but are subsequently treated in Canada are included in prevalence counts but not incidence counts.

Denominator

Canadian population

Numerator

Patients registered in the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) who started RRT for ESKD

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Name

Incidence of End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD), by Primary Diagnosis

Short/Other Names

Not applicable

Description

Breakdown by primary diagnosis of all incident patients (new patients) with end-stage kidney disease who began renal replacement therapy (RRT) (either dialysis or renal transplantation) for the first time in the calendar year

Rationale

Disease etiology can be tracked by viewing changes in the primary diagnosis over time. There are significant costs associated with treating this patient group.

Interpretation

Increasing incidence rates over time have important implications for resources, disease management and the need for kidney donation.

HSP Framework Dimension

Health system outcomes: Improve health status of Canadians

Areas of Need

Not applicable

Targets/Benchmarks

Not applicable

Available Data Years

to (calendar years)

Geographic Coverage

  • All provinces/territories except Quebec

Reporting Level/Disaggregation

  • Province/Territory
  • Breakdown by sex
  • Breakdown by age categories

Indicator Results

Web Tool:
Incident End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Patients by Primary Diagnosis

Update Frequency

Every year

Latest Results Update Date

Updates

Not applicable

Description

Counts and rates are based on patients registered during a given calendar year in a Canadian facility. Patients who began RRT for ESKD outside of Canada but are subsequently treated in Canada are included in prevalence counts but not incidence counts.

Type of Measurement

Rate - Per 1,000,000

Denominator

Description:

Canadian population

Inclusions:

All Canadians currently residing in Canada

Exclusions:

Not applicable

Numerator

Description:

Patients registered in the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) who started RRT for ESKD

Inclusions:

  • Patients registered in CORR during a given calendar year (January 1–December 31)
  • Patients must have a valid primary diagnosis code.

Exclusions:

Patients who began RRT for ESKD outside of Canada but are subsequently treated in Canada

Method of Adjustment

Not applicable

Adjustment Applied

None

Geographic Assignment

Place of service

Data Sources

  • CORR

Caveats and Limitations

The indicator is based on voluntary data submitted to CORR from facilities across Canada. Submission of data for patients beginning RRT for ESKD is not mandatory.

Data from Quebec was not included because of significant under-reporting between 2011 and 2019, which may lead to biased results.

Trending Issues

An overview of under-reporting of incident ESKD cases can be found in Data Quality Documentation for Users: Canadian Organ Replacement Register, 2010 to 2019 Data (PDF).

Comments

Not applicable

References

Nesrallah GE, Mustafa RA, Clark WF, et al. Canadian Society of Nephrology 2014 Clinical Practice Guideline for Timing the Initiation of Chronic Dialysis. CMAJ. 2014;186(2):112-117. Available at http://www.cmaj.ca/content/186/2/112

Levin A, Hemmelgarn B, Culleton B, et al. Guidelines for Management of Chronic Kidney Disease. CMAJ. 2008;179(11):1154-1162. Available at http://www.cmaj.ca/content/179/11/1154

How to cite:

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Incidence of End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD), by Primary Diagnosis. Accessed April 25, 2025.