Mobile Population-Based CKD Screening Could Help Close Care Gaps

Mobile screening for kidney disease may be a valuable tool in improving population health and identifying at-risk patients, according to a new report.

A team of investigators from Wayne State University, in Michigan, decided to create mobile health units to improve access to chronic kidney disease (CKD) screening in metropolitan Detroit. They shared the results of their efforts in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.¹

The authors noted that recent research supports the idea that expanded screening for CKD could be cost-effective thanks to the development of preventative therapies, such as sodium glucose transport-2 inhibitors.²

“Nonetheless, proactive large-scale screening systems are uncommon, even in high-risk, socially disadvantaged communities such as Detroit, Michigan,” the authors said.¹

Guidelines suggest targeted screening of high-risk patients, but some see population-based screening as a means to better identify patients with CKD who may not know they are high-risk or who may not have access to screening.

The authors aimed to determine whether they could improve screening if the screening infrastructure were physically located in areas with high-risk populations. They partnered with the Ford Motor Company to develop a fleet of vehicle-based mobile health units capable of testing patients in the field. During the research period of July 2022 through August 2025, they sent out 5 to 7 mobile units 5 to 6 days per week to partner locations across the city. The units were staffed by non-physician medical personnel. Those staffers took patients’ medical history and then offered blood pressure, diabetes, and CKD screenings to adult patients.

A total of 5128 patients were evaluated by the mobile units, racking up a total of 5973 encounters. The investigators found that nearly half of the patients (44.7%) had mildly decreased kidney function, defined as having an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 60-89 mL/min/1.73 m². One in 10 patients (11.3%) had stage 3 or above CKD (eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m²).

When investigators compared their findings against patient characteristics, they found that older age, Black race, and diabetes were all associated with a higher risk of stage 3 CKD. Those findings were similar to previous research highlighting the higher CKD risk in those groups. Yet, the investigators noted that their rate of CKD stage 3 is double the rate calculated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a difference they said is likely related to the fact that their study was focused on a geographic area that had a high rate of social vulnerabilities. Their rate was lower, though, than was found in a cohort of American veterans.³

The new report is the first published evidence, to the authors’ knowledge, looking at the potential of population-wide screening using mobile health units.¹ One drawback of their study, they noted, is that it did not include urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, which they said would help refine CKD detection. They also noted that their data did not include follow-up measurement of eGFR, which would be necessary to confirm patient classifications and stages.

Still, the investigators said the study serves as a useful proof of concept demonstrating the benefits of mobile testing.

“Altogether, these novel findings suggest significant potential for public health benefits associated with population-wide CKD screening in at-risk communities using [mobile health unit] platforms,” they concluded.

References:

1. Brook RD, Korzeniewski SJ, Foster B, et al. Screening for Chronic Kidney Disease by Mobile Health Unit Outreach. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(3):e262312. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.2312
2. van Mil D, Kieneker LM, Heerspink HJL, Gansevoort RT. Screening for chronic kidney disease: change of perspective and novel developments. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens. 2024;33(6):583-592. doi:10.1097/MNH.0000000000001016
3. Duggal V, Thomas IC, Montez-Rath ME, Chertow GM, Kurella Tamura M. National Estimates of CKD Prevalence and Potential Impact of Estimating Glomerular Filtration Rate Without Race. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2021;32(6):1454-1463. doi:10.1681/ASN.2020121780