A new algorithm developed by researchers at Columbia University can analyze thousands of variants across the genome and estimate a person’s risk of developing chronic kidney disease — and it works in people of African, Asian, European, and LatinX descent.
“With this polygenic method, we can identify individuals at risk decades before the onset of kidney disease, and those with high risk might adopt protective lifestyle changes to reduce that risk,” says Krzysztof Kiryluk, MD, associate professor of medicine and a physician-scientist in the division of nephrology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. (Diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and certain medications, such as NSAIDs, are known to increase the risk of kidney disease.)
