Renal replacement therapy in Sweden

Objective: The Swedish Registry for Active Treatment of Uraemia (SRAU) was founded in 1991 with the objective of documenting demographic data on patients treated for end‐stage renal disease (ESRD). The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence, incidence, comorbidity risk factors and survival of patients with ESRD who underwent dialysis treatment and/or kidney transplantation in Sweden between 1991 and 2002. Material and Methods: All dialysis and transplant units (n=65) presently report to the SRAU and almost all patients are reported and followed until death. Results: The prevalence of patients on dialysis and transplantation, being ≈750 per million population (PMP), has increased by 75% in 12 years. The recent annual rise is ≈3% (200 patients). The incidence has been stable since 1997 at ≈125 patients PMP. In 2002, there were 1113 new patients, the majority of whom were aged ≥65 years. Their original kidney disease was most often diabetic nephropathy (23.7%), with nephrosclerosis (19.0%) being the second most common disease. The total number of renal transplantations performed has decreased to some extent. The overall 5‐year patient survival rate was 23.1% in patients on dialysis and 85.5% after kidney transplantation. The major cause of death was cardiovascular disease (48%) and an increasing frequency of malignancy after transplantation (26%) was noted. Conclusion: The prevalence of ESRD has nearly doubled since 1990 and the number of new patients being referred for dialysis has increased. These patients are becoming older, with a large proportion having non‐renal complicating diseases. Survival after transplantation was excellent. The shortage of cadaveric donors in Sweden in recent years and increasing mortality from malignant disease after transplantation are issues of great concern.