Research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found several types of a single gene are strongly associated with kidney disease, especially among African-Americans. The gene MYH9 and its many variations greatly contribute to the increased risk of kidney disease in African-Americans.
 
MYH9 variants are associated with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), HIV-associated FSGS and all non-diabetic kidney failure. These variants were much more frequent among people of African ancestry than among whites. The increased risk among African-Americans with these variants is more than 300 percent for FSGS, more than 500 percent for HIV-associated FSGS, and more than 100 percent for all non-diabetic kidney failure. Sixty percent of African-Americans carry the risk variants in contrast to 4 percent of whites.
 
AAKP recently teamed up with Baxter Healthcare to promote the Take 2 Tell 5 program. This campaign targets African Americans with kidney disease and those at risk of developing kidney failure, to take two minutes to get tested for the disease and tell five friends and loved ones to also get tested.

This article originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of Kidney Beginnings: The Electronic Newsletter.