Factors associated with chronic kidney disease, according to laboratory criteria of the National Health Survey.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 in Brazil and the associated factors.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional household-based epidemiological survey. Data were collected from the National Health Survey (PNS), conducted in 2013, by carrying out creatinine blood test and GFR calculation (n = 7,457). The groups of explanatory variables were: sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyles, chronic diseases, anthropometry, and health assessment. The prevalence of GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and the respective 95% confidence intervals were estimated using the Poisson regression to calculate the crude and adjusted prevalence ratio (PR and adjPR) by age, sex, education level, and region.

Results: The prevalence of GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 was 6.48% (95%CI 5.88 - 7.09). After the adjustment, the following aspects remained associated: women (PR = 1.40; 95%CI 1.16 - 1.68), age of 45-59 years (adjPR = 7.27; 95%CI 3.8 - 14.1), 60 years or older (adjPR = 33.55; 95%CI 17.8 - 63.4), obesity (PR = 1.32 (95%CI 1.1 - 1.7), diabetes (PR = 1.44; 95%CI 1.2 - 1.8), poor/very poor self-rated health (PR = 1.50; 95%CI 1.2 - 1.9); and the lowest adjPR was found for the Northeast and Southeast regions, among smokers with high salt intake.

Conclusion: GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 was higher in women, increased with age, in addition to being associated with obesity, diabetes, and poor self-rated health. Knowing the prevalence of chronic kidney disease through biochemical tests and risk and protective factors are paramount to support public health policies.