Rising mortality due to coexisting liver cirrhosis and kidney failure in the United States (1999–2023): A nationwide retrospective analysis

Liver cirrhosis and kidney failure are significant public health concerns, with their coexistence worsening patient outcomes. This study analyzes mortality trends from 1999 to 2023 using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research data to identify high-risk populations and inform public health strategies. Trends in liver cirrhosis and kidney failure mortality were analyzed using a retrospective analysis of death certificates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database. Crude and age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) per 1,00,000 people and annual percent change in AAMR with 95% confidence interval were obtained and measured across different demographic and geographic subgroups. Liver cirrhosis and kidney failure registered with total 1,36,947 deaths. The AAMR got doubled from 3.6 in 1999 to 6.3 in 2023. No significant variances were appeared from 1999 to 2018 after which a great surge was seen in AAMR till 2023 (annual percent change: 9.63). AAMR remained higher in males as compared to females during the whole study (overall AAMR: Males 5.6 vs Females 3.2) and peaked in non-Hispanic American Indians or Alaska Natives (7.5) among race/ethnicity. The highest crude mortality rate of 8.0 was noted in population aged 75 to 84 years. The overall AAMR of 4.1 remained similar in both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas and the South region had the top AAMR of 4.8 considering geographics. Proper resource distribution and more focused approaches are required to tackle the rising shift in mortality rates among different geographics and demographics.