Familial Aggregation of CKD: Gene or Environment?

Abstract

Nephrologists often see patients who have a family history of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the clinical utility of this information is not always clear. Alongside comorbid conditions (such as diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia) and constitutive parameters (such as age, ethnicity, and sex), a positive family history of CKD has gained greater attention as a major risk factor for CKD and is predictive of a positive genetic diagnosis.1 In recent years, nephrologists also increasingly use genetic testing in medical care, and patients frequently inquire about genetic kidney disease and the risk of disease transmission to their offspring.