Chronic kidney disease prevention—a challenge for Asian countries: report of the Third Asian Forum of Chronic Kidney Disease Initiatives

As an independent meeting, the third Asian Forum of Chronic Kidney Disease Initiatives was held on April 18–19, 2009, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Nearly 700 participants from 17 countries attended and 78 posters were presented. To begin with, status quo in Asia and in Taiwan was briefed, followed by Theme 1A “Special Epidemiology and Risk Factors”, during which the interrelations between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and use of herbs, low birth weight, infections, and immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy were discussed. Theme 1B dealt with both cardiovascular and renal outcomes of CKD patients. In Theme 2, five presenters from different countries shared their experiences on “Cost-effectiveness of Community-based or Nationwide CKD Prevention Programs”. In between the conference themes, three international and integrative works—Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes, the World Kidney Day, and Kidney Early Evaluation Program—were presented and possible implications for Asia were suggested. Theme 3 was initiated with a thorough discussion on “Equation of the Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate for Asians” and the preliminary results of a cross-country study were presented. In Theme 4, the care plan, strategies, and outcomes of timely initiation of dialysis in different countries were discussed. The final session started with a concise summary of all speeches and ended with a position statement.