African Americans are at increased risk of kidney failure caused by hypertension. The African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) Cohort Study was created to identify risk factors for progressive kidney disease in African Americans with hypertensive chronic kidney disease in the setting of recommended antihypertensive therapy. Dr. Alves noted that AASK allowed the medical community to gain a greater understanding of the types of serious health outcomes (ESRD, CVD events, and mortality) that afflict African-Americans with nondiabetic hypertensive nephrosclerosis.

In an accompanying editorial, Linda F. Fried, MD (VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh) explained that the study "suggests that the risk for death before dialysis is not uniform. Whether this should have an impact on clinical care is not yet clear. Although it could affect the focus on preparing for dialysis or transplantation evaluation, we would need to improve our risk prediction on an individual level before this could be initiated."

ASN leads the fight against kidney disease by highlighting complex areas of interest and controversy, such as addressing profound health care disparities, its leading legislative priority for 2010. ASN believes Congress and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) can play a significant role in addressing disparities, by increasing funding and support of minority investigators and providing additional aid to investigators who study disparities in treatment of Americans with kidney disease.

Source : Journal of the American Society of Nephrology