In part, this rise is likely to reflect the growing incidence of diabetes as well as improved access to dialysis care. Nevertheless, the increasing number of patients on dialysis also indicates the potential for reducing the burden of disease through effective preventive actions aimed at reducing disease incidence as well as better management of disease to minimise the risk of serious complications such as ESRF. There is a much greater reliance on dialysis in countries such as Greece, Italy, Japan and Korea, where over 75% of patients are treated this way.