Dialysis for end stage renal disease financed through the Brazilian National Health System, 2000 to 2012

Background Chronic kidney disease has become a public health problem worldwide. Its terminal stage requires renal replacement therapy – dialysis or transplantation – for the maintenance of life, resulting in high economic and social costs. Though the number of patients with end-stage renal disease treated by dialysis in Brazil is among the highest in the world, current estimates of incidence and prevalence are imprecise. Our aim is to describe incidence and prevalence trends and the epidemiologic profile of end-stage renal disease patients receiving publically-financed dialysis in Brazil between 2000 and 2012.