MORTALITY TRENDS FOR ACUTE AND CHRONIC NEPHRITIS AND INFECTIONS OF THE KIDNEY

Death-rates for acute and chronic nephritis Summary fell between 1950 and 1964 in the U.S.A.: a similar pattern emerged from mortality figures for England and Wales. But in both areas, the death-rate from infections of the kidney rose—by 148% in the U.S.A. and by even more in England and Wales. Multiple-cause analysis reveals that in 1955, cardiovascular disorders accounted for over half the underlying causes of death with which chronic nephritis was associated, a ten-fold increase since 1940. During the same period diabetic nephropathy was recognised and now a renal death in a diabetic may be recorded as diabetes rather than chronic nephritis. The interest in urinary-tract infections in the past twenty years or so may have focused attention on " infections of the kidney " as a cause of death. It is suggested that chronic nephritis is becoming less often identified as an underlying cause of death. On the other hand, the possibility is considered that a true change may have taken place in the natural history of the chronic nephritides. Using current mortality figures, it is estimated that in the U.S.A., 5.1 per 100,000 persons, aged 15-55, are eligible for chronic intermittent dialysis per year.