TOPLINE:

Adults aged 20 to younger than 60 years with chronic kidney disease (CKD) faced a higher absolute risk for workforce detachment than those with normal or near-normal kidney function, regardless of age, sex, diabetes status, or level of education.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a cohort study using data from healthcare registries in Denmark to examine the association between CKD and workforce detachment among adults of working age.
• A total of 81,642 adults (median age, 52 years; 52% women) were included: 12,704 adults with CKD and 68,938 matched adults without CKD, all of whom were in the workforce at the index date (the date of the latest estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] confirming the diagnosis of CKD).
• CKD was defined as at least two reported eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² at least 90 days apart; it was stratified by severity (stages 3a-5) on the basis of levels of eGFR.
• Outcomes included the time from the index date to the first occurrence of sick leave lasting at least 3 consecutive weeks, early retirement, death, emigration, or administrative censoring, whichever came first; detachment from the workforce was defined as the first sick leave of at least 3 weeks or early retirement.
• Workforce attachment status at 1 year after the index date was also evaluated.

TAKEAWAY:

• At 1 year, adults with CKD had a higher absolute risk for workforce detachment than those without (9% vs 5%; P < .001), regardless of age, sex, diabetes status, or educational level; the risk for workforce detachment increased with the severity of CKD.
• Younger age and higher educational attainment were linked to a higher likelihood of attachment to the workforce.
• The association between CKD and workforce detachment was stronger among women than among men, except individuals with CKD stage 5, among whom men had higher rates of workforce detachment.
• Individuals with diabetes had a higher absolute risk for workforce detachment across all CKD stages than those without diabetes.

IN PRACTICE:

"Persons with CKD had a higher absolute risk of workforce detachment than persons without CKD. The absolute risk of workforce detachment was directly related to CKD severity. These findings were consistent across categories of age, sex, diabetes status and level of education," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Rasmus Rørth, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. It was published online on February 17, 2026, in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

LIMITATIONS:

Blood samples were not uniformly drawn. Data on albuminuria were insufficient. Additionally, as the study was observational in design, unmeasured confounders could not be excluded.

DISCLOSURES:

No funding information was provided for the study. Few authors reported having ownership interests; serving in consultancy, advisory, or leadership roles; receiving honoraria or research funding; holding stock; or serving as employees of various organisations.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.