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Nephrology in Spain |
The incidence and prevalence of chronic renal insufficiency in the year 2000 is described in Table nº 1 (información en el Web de la SEN). The annual figure was 132 patients per million inhabitants (PMP), versus 126 PMP for the previous year. There were notable differences among communities (ranging from 105 to 175 PMP) (2).
As far as incidence by age group is concerned, the highest rate occurs among 65 - to 74-year-olds, followed by those older than 74 (352 PMP).
The prevalence of patients in renal substitution treatment in Spain on December 31, 2000 was 848 PMP. As for the type of treatment utilized, 52% received hemodialysis (17,714), 42% (1,739) were transplanted with functional grafts and 5% (1,647) underwent peritoneal dialysis (Table nº 2)
With regard to age, the rate of incidence was higher in the 65- to 74- year-old age group (Table nº 1). Table nº 3 shows the percent distribution of patients that began renal substitution treatment in Spain in the year 2000. Diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of renal insufficiency, followed by vascular nephropathies.
During the year 2002, there were performed a total of 2,032 renal transplants (48.6 PMP) and 69 kidney/pancreas grafts. Graph nº 1 illustrates transplantation trends in Spain. Details regarding both donor activity and transplantation by different regions can be observed in the website of the National Organization for Transplants (Spanish ONT statistics).
In spite of the high number of cadaveric kidneys available for transplantation in Spain, in the very next future one of main objectives of the Spanish Society of Nephrology is to increase the number of living kidney donors in order to improve the very low figures of living renal transplantation in our Country.
Patient lethality in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis were 13.4% and 14.2%, respectively. In transplanted patients, it decreased to 1.94%. These values are not comparable to those of previous years, since they correspond to populations with different demographic characteristics and associated morbidities.
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