The risk of developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is significantly higher in African Americans with HIV than in whites who are HIV positive, according to a press release summarizing a study published in the November Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Andy Choi, MD, of the department of medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 2 million patients in the Veterans Administration (VA) system who underwent kidney function tests between 2000 and 2001. Just over 15,000 were HIV positive, of whom nearly 54 percent were African American. Follow-up data from 2004 told researchers which patients had gone on to develop ESRD—the permanent loss of kidney function requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Dr. Choi’s group found that HIV was a significant and independent risk factor for ESRD in African Americans, but not for whites. Having HIV increased African Americans’ risk of developing ESRD to nearly the same degree as having diabetes, one of the most common risk factors for ESRD. In all, African-American patients with HIV were almost six times more likely to develop ESRD than white patients with HIV. Researchers are calling for additional research to understand how to best prevent and treat kidney disease in HIV-positive African Americans.