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KIDNEY DISEASE

Definition

This topic refers to those ever told by a doctor or nurse they have kidney disease and who consider themselves to currently have kidney disease.

Population

Information was obtained for all persons in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) and persons aged 2 years and over in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS).

Methodology

Information about kidney disease was collected in both the NATSIHS and the NATSINPAS surveys. Information on kidney disease was first published in the First Results publication based on the NATSIHS only sample of approximately 9,300 people of all ages. Updated results on kidney disease for the larger, combined NATSIHS and NATSINPAS sample, known as the Core sample, of approximately 12,900 people aged two years and over was published in the Updated Results publication. For comparison of kidney disease with NATSIHS only items or the 0-1 year old population, the NATSIHS file should be used and similarly, for comparison with NATSINPAS only items, the NATSINPAS file should be used. However, for the most accurate information on kidney disease alone or comparison with other items collected in the Core, the Core file should be used. For more information on the structure of the AATSIHS, see the Structure of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey page of this Users' Guide.

Respondents were first asked whether they had ever been told by a doctor or a nurse that they had kidney disease and whether they currently had the condition. Respondents with kidney disease were assumed to have the condition long-term.

NATSIHS respondents were then asked whether they had ever had dialysis or used a kidney machine and whether or not they had been tested for kidney disease in the last 3 years.

In addition to self report data for kidney disease, information on chronic kidney diseases was also collected from the NATSIHMS. For more details on this biomedical component, see the Biomedical Measures chapter of this Users' Guide.

Data items

The data items and related output categories for this topic are available in Excel spreadsheet format from the Downloads page of this product.

Interpretation

Points to be considered in interpreting data for this topic include the following:

• Respondents may not have distinguished between kidney disease, kidney stones or kidney infection. Kidney stones and kidney infection may be short-term conditions. Distinction cannot be made from the data between the various kidney ailments and as such there may be respondents incorrectly classified as long-term. However given the prevalence of kidney disease is expected to be an underestimate, it is considered that the impact is minimal.
• Those cases of kidney disease reported through the 'Long-term conditions' module, rather than the 'kidney disease' module, have not necessarily been diagnosed by a doctor or nurse. Data for these respondents only appear on the NATSIHS file, and are identified by their conditions status of 4: Not known if ever told or not ever told, but condition current and long-term.
• As this is a household based survey, those people with kidney disease resident in hospitals, nursing or convalescent homes, or similar accommodation are outside the scope of this survey. As a result, the survey will under-represent those with more severe complications of the condition.