Dr Robert Gabbay Discusses ADA's Efforts to Address Effect of Diabetes on Kidney Disease

Most people who have chronic kidney disease do not know they have it and are not getting screened, said Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief scientific and medical officer at the American Diabetes Association.

Transcript

The introduction of newer therapies to prevent renal decline has brought attention to the need for improved monitoring of patients with diabetes. Can you discuss ADA’s efforts in this area?

The American Diabetes Association has been really concerned about the impact of diabetes on renal disease for some time. Diabetes is the leading cause for end-stage renal disease in the US, and so it is a major contributor to a host of morbidity and mortality associated with kidney disease. The unfortunate thing is that most people are not aware that they have chronic kidney disease and are not being screened. We are about to launch a national effort to really elevate the conversation around kidney disease. And stay tuned in the coming months, we'll be announcing some exciting work that will expand on the work we're already doing in this area, but we really think the time has come to tackle this in a big way.