Table 1

Data sources and topics in establishing a CKD surveillance system in China

Data source	Indications of CKD	Risk factors for CKD	Progression of CKD and outcomes	Medical interventions	Limitations
Population census and registered health insurance database	NA	Demographics, lifestyle risk factors	NA	NA	Only one record of measurement for each person.
Health checks database^*	Serum creatinine, dipstick test of proteinuria	Physical examinations, laboratory tests, disease history	Serum creatinine, dipstick test of proteinuria	Types, doses and frequency of prescription	1–2 years’ lag, no information on medications.
Disease surveillance and management database	NA	NA	Diagnosis of CVD, Death certificates	Types, doses and frequency of prescription	No information on laboratory tests.
Outpatient/inpatient EMR database	Serum creatinine, urine albumin to creatinine ratio, ICD-10 codes for CKD	Physical examinations, laboratory tests, disease history	Diagnosis of comorbidities, CVD, ESKD and death certificates	Types, doses and frequency of prescription	Coverage limited to patients with outpatient/inpatient visits.
Charge and claims database	NA	NA	NA	Types, doses and frequency of prescription	Prescription information may not be accurate.

*Health checks database refers to health checks for new rural cooperative medical scheme, health checks for elderly people and health checks for adults with hypertension and diabetes.
CKD, chronic kidney disaese; CVD, cardiovascular disease; EMR, electronic medical record; ESKD, end-stage kidney disease; ICD-10, International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision; NA, not available.