Chronic Kidney Disease in Children Study

The Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) study began in 2003 and is a landmark cohort study of children with CKD, having rallied 54 pediatric nephrology centers across the United States and Canada to recruit and study more than 900 children ages 6 months to 16 years with mild to moderate impaired kidney function at study entry.

Two clinical coordinating centers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Children's Mercy Kansas City, and a data coordinating center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, have formed a cooperative agreement to conduct this multi-center, prospective observational cohort study.

The scientific aims of CKiD have been to determine the risk factors for decline in kidney function and the effects of kidney function decline on the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, growth failure and its associated morbidity, and neurocognitive function and behavior. The study’s aims also include:

• Recruitment of 190 children with congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract and other non-glomerular kidney disorders early in the course of CKD
• Characterization of the impact of duration of CKD, dialysis, and kidney transplantation on the cumulative burden of cardiovascular risk factors
• Remote assessment of physical activity and blood pressure
• Development of novel approaches to identify risk factors for CKD progression
• Enhancement of research in childhood CKD through collaboration with other cohorts
• Continued provision of a broad data resource for the scientific community.

The CKiD infrastructure serves as a platform for career development awards for junior investigators and ancillary R01s for more senior colleagues.

Research Project Highlights

• With longer follow-up and additional recruitment of subjects early in the course of CKD, CKiD researchers will continue to characterize novel biomarkers of kidney injury associated with CKD progression and its sequellae to help inform future therapeutic trials.
• The next phase of the study will include children with CKD after initiation of dialysis or transplant, and the discernment of important sub-phenotypes of childhood CKD.