Title: African Americans and Kidney Disease | National Kidney Foundation
Headings: African Americans and Kidney Disease
African Americans and Kidney Disease
What is kidney disease?
Change the Face of Kidney Disease
Can anyone get kidney disease?
Why are African Americans at greater risk for kidney disease?
How does access to healthcare play a role?
What to do?

Content: The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to get kidney disease. Why are African Americans at greater risk for kidney disease? African Americans have more diabetes and high blood pressure than other Americans. Having diabetes or high blood pressure can lead to kidney disease and kidney failure. Heart and blood vessel disease also plays a major role among African Americans. Heredity or genetics may also be involved. According to a recent study by the National Institute of Health, some African Americans are born with a "high risk" gene. African Americans with kidney disease who have the high risk gene are twice as likely to progress to kidney failure as African Americans without the high-risk gene or white Americans. How does access to healthcare play a role? According to a recent study, many African Americans do not even know they have kidney disease until it's in the latest stages.