Anti-Aging Research: Staggering Cost of End-Stage Renal Disease

Recent progress in the prevention and treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States give reason for "cautious optimism," but skyrocketing costs are a major concern.

In 2004, the most recent year for which complete data were available, 104,364 Americans (approximately 0.03 percent of the population) started dialysis or received a kidney transplant. Most important, the probabilities of survival for U.S. ESRD patients have improved steadily since the late 1980s—especially remarkable since today's dialysis patients are older and sicker than the dialysis population of 20 years ago.

With the continued growth of the ESRD population, costs grew by 57 percent between 1999 and 2004. "The cost implications are staggering," Dr. Foley adds. "The most recent estimates showed that Medicare costs for ESRD reached $20.1 billion, while non-Medicare costs rose to $12.4 billion." Costs for the care of ESRD patients now account for 6.7 percent of total Medicare expenditures.

And yet, in another article, 81% Positive Response to Coenzyme Q10 Treatment for Chronic Kidney Failure. But this CoQ10 therapy would only cost $100 per month and put a lot of kidney dialysis technicians out of business.

Read details about this ESRD End-Stage Renal Disease cost study.