According to the findings, 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 of Washington in the US.

In addition to deaths resulting from organ failure in chronic kidney disease, impaired kidney function also puts individuals at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, the researchers said.

Globally, chronic kidney disease directly resulted in an estimated 1.23 million deaths in 2017, with an additional 1.36 million deaths attributable to cardiovascular disease resulting from impaired kidney function.

Chronic kidney disease was the 12th leading cause of death globally in 2017, up from 17th in 1990.

According to the study, 10 other nations - the US, Indonesia, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Vietnam - each had more than 10 million cases in 2017.

In total, 79 of the 195 countries included in the study exceeded 1 million cases.

Those cases and deaths in 2017 led to an estimated 7.3 million years lived with disability and 28.5 million years of life lost, the study said.

There was a more than 15-fold difference in the burden of chronic kidney disease among countries: American Samoa, El Salvador, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Mauritius had the highest estimated rates of years lost to ill health (disability-adjusted life years or DALYs) with more than 1,500 per 100,000 population.

In contrast, Andorra, Finland, Iceland, and Slovenia had the lowest burden with fewer than 120 DALYs per 100,000 population.

The primary cause of chronic kidney disease varies, with hypertension and diabetes being the most common.

The link between kidney disease and other major non-communicable diseases highlights the importance of preventive care and public health policy in limiting the progression of chronic kidney disease.

HIV and exposure to toxins or heavy metals play an additional role in developing countries, while in some areas of the world the cause remains unknown, the researchers said.