Women with Kidney Disease Are Undertreated and Left Behind by Decades of Male-Dominated Research

Chronic kidney disease affects 844 million people worldwide, yet women are less likely than men to be tested, diagnosed, referred to specialists, or receive treatments that have been adequately studied in female patients Up to 30% to 50% of chronic kidney disease cases go undiagnosed in high-income countries, and women are up to twice as likely as white men to remain undiagnosed even when kidney damage is present Women account for about 55% of the global chronic kidney disease population but represented only 45.4% of participants in kidney disease clinical trials, creating major gaps in knowledge about how treatments affect women Social and economic factors, including caregiving responsibilities, financial barriers, and delayed access to specialist care, contribute to poorer kidney disease outcomes for many women as the condition progresses Protecting kidney health includes addressing contributing factors, such as high blood pressure, poor mineral balance, vitamin D deficiency, physical inactivity, and ultraprocessed food consumption, while using routine blood and urine testing to detect problems before permanent damage occurs