Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health used the recently developed National Kidney. Foundation Clinical Practice Guide lines, which provide a standardized definition of chronic kidney diseases and stages, to a nationally representative sample of 15,625 non-institutionalized adults who participated in the third National Health and Nutrition examination survey (NHANES III).Participants were also interviewed about the history of diabetes and hypertension. Chronic kidney disease stages are based on Glomerular filtration rate(GFR).A healthy young adult as a GFR of 130 ml/min/1.73m2.The researcher found on estimated 5.9 million individuals (3.3%)had a stage I/normal kidney function with protein found in urine on two occasions :7.6 million (4.3%)had stage III/moderately decreased kidney function (GFR)30-59ml/min/1.73m2):4 lakhs (0.2%)had a stage IV /severely decreased kidney function (GFR15-29ml/min/1.73 m2):3lakhs (0.2%) had a stage V  or kidney failure. Old age is strongly associated with the higher prevalence of moderately or severely decreased kidney function. All together ,19.2million (11%)of the  US .adult population has varying stages of chronic kidney diseases .According to Josef Coresh ,Md, PhD, lead author of the study , using standardized  criteria and carefully calibrated estimates of kidney function could provide national prevalence estimates, which in could be a bench mark for future studies  and  international  comparisons. These effects, He said, were critical to improving diagnosis, treatment and prevention of C KD and its complication. The study estimates of decreased kidney function far exceed the number of cases of treated end-stage renal disease. Over 340,000 patients required dialysis or transplantation in 1999.the number is expected increase to 651,000 by 2010.                                                                                                                                                  - American journal of kidney Diseases, January 2003.