ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the kidney disease in the ethnic minority populations of the United Kingdom (UK). The UK is an increasingly multicultural society, with growing numbers of migrant people with differing disease susceptibilities to those of the native North European Caucasian population. The increased prevalence of chronic kidney disease in minority populations presents a major economic challenge for the delivery of health care in the UK for those in whom end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is established or inevitable. The impact of the fetal environment on subsequent adult disease patterns is closely associated with the hypothesis of Barker and his colleagues. They propose that in utero “programming” contributes to adult disease. The age structure of all ethnic populations in the UK is younger than that of Whites. ESRD from all causes rises with age and this appears to be disproportionately so among ethnic communities.
