Studies: Chronic CKD Strongly Associated With Risk Of Kidney Failure, Death.

HealthDay  (9/27, Preidt) reports, "Chronic kidney disease [CKD] is strongly associated with the risk of kidney failure and death, even in patients without high blood pressure or diabetes," according to two studies conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and published online Sept. 24 in The Lancet. In one study, "researchers found that low kidney function and high urinary levels of the protein albumin were associated with all-cause and cardiovascular death and kidney failure in both patients with and without high blood pressure." The other study found that CKD "patients with diabetes had a higher risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death and kidney failure than those without diabetes, regardless of their levels of kidney function and urine protein."