The prevalence of diabetes around the world has reached epidemic proportions. While diabetes is already estimated to affect more than 8% of the global population (more than 350 million people), this is projected to grow to over 550 million people by 2035. It has been estimated that 40% or more of people with diabetes will develop chronic kidney disease, including a significant number who will develop end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) requiring dialysis and transplantation. With a number of new agents targeting a variety of mechanistic approaches to improving outcomes for people with diabetes and kidney disease, it is timely to reflect on what has been learned in order to ensure that as much as possible is gained from previous studies and to better optimize both the care of affected patients, as well as the design of future research. This conference will therefore explore these issues in detail.

The objective of this KDIGO conference was to gather a global panel of multi-disciplinary clinical and scientific expertise (e.g., nephrology, cardiology, endocrinology) and identify key issues relevant to the optimal management of diabetes in CKD. It was hoped that this conference will inform clinicians of the evidence base for present treatment options and help pave the way for future studies in this area.

Drs. Per-Henrik Groop (Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland) and Vlado Perkovic (George Institute for Global Health, Australia) co-chaired this conference.