Chronic kidney disease - an epidemic of the aging population. How to establish a boundary between physiological aging and chronic kidney disease?

The elongation of human life and in consequence the increasing percentage of elderly subjects in European populations are the main causes of the rising prevalence of patients with chronic kidney disease. High rate of morbidity characteristic for this group of patients have a strong impact on the shortage of resourses of the health systems. This article reviews the currently available data concerning the differences between physiological, age related decline of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and features of chronic kidney disease. The limitations of application of the same norms of GFR for all age groups and the lack of considering declining with age metabolic demands are raised.