Establishing predictors of long-term health outcomes in the NewKI CKD cohort

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects around 3 million people in the United Kingdom. Some people with CKD are more likely to go on to develop health problems, including cardiovascular disease, than the general population. In this study, we aim to see if we can identify which people with CKD are most likely to develop health problems, to help to plan preventive treatments.

Between 2013 and 2017, a study at Oxford University tested people aged over 60 years to see whether they had CKD. The study participants who had a positive CKD test attended a study visit, where we collected detailed information on their health, lifestyle and took blood samples for analysis. Since then, they have been attending study visits every year to monitor their general health and kidney function. Now, we want to see whether any of them have gone on to develop more serious health problems, were admitted to hospital or died. We can get accurate information on this from NHS Digital, but to do this, we need to go through an in depth application process. This proposal includes costs to apply for NHS Digital data and time for a member of the study research team to prepare the NHS Digital application and link the results in a secure manner with the participants’ study data.

When we get these data, we will use statistical models to see whether we can identify the people who went on to develop health problems or died, at an earlier stage. This work will help us to understand which people are at greatest risk of poor health outcomes, so their doctors can monitor their health more closely and make sure they are taking the right medicines. Our aim is to help improve care for people with CKD in the future.

Co-applicants

Richard Hobbs, Hannah Swayze, Rebecca Lowe, Jose Ordonez Mena (Oxford)

Amount awarded: £23 222.26