Kidney function – as with other organ functions – declines steadily with age.

From the age of about 25, it drops by between 1/2 to 2% per year. If we lived long enough eventually our kidneys will ”fail“ – that is, be insufficient for normal functioning. At that stage (Stage 5 chronic kidney disease) we might require regular dialysis.

When will that happen? To help answer this, we recently developed kidney trajectory charts which plot percentiles of function with age.

These kidney charts help inform an age-based interpretation of function.
*Not accounting for our normal age related decline that can lead to overdiagnosis of much of the population.

For more information, you can read:

1. Prof Paul Glasziou’s blog piece – When will my kidneys fail? Try this handy chart

2. BMJ Evidence-based medicine publication (M Guppy et al) – Kidney trajectory charts to assist general practitioners in the assessment of patients with reduced kidney function: a randomised vignette study

3. BMJ Analysis piece (R Moynihan, R Glassock, J Doust) – Chronic kidney disease controversy: how expanding definitions are unnecessarily labelling many people as diseased

4. BJGP Open (M Guppy et al) - Kidney trajectory charts improve GP management of patients with reduced kidney function: a randomised controlled vignette study

5. BJGP Open (M Guppy et al) - Chronic kidney disease and the alternative labels used by GPs in Australia: a qualitative interview study

6. BMC Primary Care (M Guppy et al) - General practitioners’ assessment and management of chronic kidney disease in older patients- a mixed methods study

7. PLOS One (M Guppy et al) - Use of kidney trajectory charts as an adjunct to chronic kidney disease guidelines- a qualitative study of general practitioners

8. BMJ Open (M Guppy et al) - Rate of decline in kidney function with age: a systematic review