POPULATION NEED FOR RENAL REPLACEMENT THERAPY IN THAMES REGIONS - ETHNIC DIMENSION

Objectives-To determine the use of renal replacement therapy by ethnic origin and to ascertain the variation in provision of such therapy an d to relate this to the distribution of ethnic minority populations. D esign-Analysis of retrospective and cross sectional data from 19 renal units.Setting-All four Thames regional health authorities. Subjects-P atients resident in the Thames regions who were accepted as new patien ts for renal replacement therapy during 1991 and 1992 and the patients who were already undergoing such treatment between December 1992 and April 1993. Main outcome measures-Rates of acceptance for and prevalen ce of renal replacement therapy among white, black, and Asian people. Results-The average annual acceptance rates per million in 1991-2 were 61 for white people, 175 for black people, and 178 for Asians, and th e prevalences per million were 351, 918, and 957 respectively. The rel ative risks increased with age. A threefold increase in the acceptance rate occurred in people aged under 55 in both the black and Asian pop ulations, suggesting that the higher rates are probably not due to fac tors related to access alone. Treatment rates varied considerably amon g districts, reflecting both the distribution of ethnic minority popul ations and access to services. Conclusion-Black and Asian people recei ve and have a greater need for renal replacement therapy, and the need will increase as these populations age. These findings have important implications for the provision of renal services in districts with a high proportion of ethnic minorities and for the management of diabete s mellitus and hypertension, two important causes of end stage renal f ailure in these populations.