Cumulative Risk of End-Stage Renal Disease Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Nationwide Inception Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE To estimate long-term cumulative risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) after diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This nationwide population-based inception cohort study included 421,429 patients with type 2 diabetes diagnosed in 1990–2011; patients were followed until the end of 2013. Data linkage between several national health care registers in Finland, covering 100% of the population, enabled the inclusion of almost all inhabitants who started taking diabetes medication or were hospitalized for diabetes. Cumulative risk of ESRD and hazard ratios [HR] for ESRD and death were estimated according to age, sex, and time period of diabetes diagnosis. RESULTS Among 421,429 patients with type 2 diabetes, 1,516 developed ESRD and 150,524 died during 3,458,797 patient-years of follow-up. Cumulative risk of ESRD was 0.29% at 10 years and 0.74% at 20 years from diagnosis of diabetes. Risk was higher among men than among women (HR 1.93 [95% CI 1.72–2.16]), decreased with older age at diagnosis (HR 0.70 [95% CI 0.60–0.81] for age 60–69 vs. 40–49 years), and was lower for those diagnosed in 2000–2011 than in 1990–1994 (HR 0.72 [95% CI 0.63–0.81]). Patients diagnosed with diabetes in 2000–2011 had lower risk of death during follow-up than those diagnosed in 1990–1994 (HR 0.64 [95% CI 0.63–0.65]). CONCLUSIONS Cumulative risk of ESRD is minimal among patients with type 2 diabetes compared with their risk of death. Patients diagnosed with diabetes at an older age have a lower risk of ESRD due to higher competing mortality.