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Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital have developed and validated an online calculator that can estimate a person’s risk of developing chronic kidney disease. The method used to develop the tool was published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Early stage chronic kidney disease has no symptoms, and its onset can often be reduced with lifestyle modifications such as diet, exercise, and quitting smoking. This calculator may improve awareness of chronic kidney disease and help people reduce their risk.

The team led by Drs. Manish Sood (pictured right) and Ariana Noel used ICES data from 22,200 adults in Ontario with normal kidney function (9% of whom developed chronic kidney disease), as well as data from 15,500 adults in the UK Biobank to develop and validate the tool.

Their final model, which includes lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol, physical activity) and other illnesses (diabetes, hypertension, cancer) can accurately predict who will develop chronic kidney disease.

“Our goal is to improve awareness of chronic kidney disease and to empower and personalize care for patients,” said Dr. Manish Sood, a physician-scientist and Jindal Research Chair for the Prevention of Kidney Disease at The Ottawa Hospital, and associate professor at the University of Ottawa. “Our calculator is a simple tool that can be completed by anyone without prior medical knowledge or blood work.”

The calculator is part of Project Big Life.