According to the findings of a new study published in the journal The Lancet there were 697.5 million cases of chronic kidney disease in 2017 and nearly one-third of those patients lived in two countries - China with about 132 million cases and India with about 115 million. Chronic kidney disease is a global killer hidden in plain sight. The evidence is clear: Many nations' health systems cannot keep pace with the dialysis demand. Cases far exceed and are well beyond the ability of those systems to handle. The consequences literally are deadly said study researcher Theo Vos from University