Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 26 million American adults have CKD. If left untreated, CKD leads to heart disease and dialysis and eventually death. Guidelines issued by the National Kidney Foundation say CKD is under-diagnosed and under-treated, resulting in lost opportunities for prevention. The two main causes of CKD are diabetes and hypertension.
Diabetes
According to the National Kidney Foundation's Clinical Practice Guidelines and Clinical Practice Recommendations for Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease 2007, diabetes is the leading cause of CKD in developed countries, and is rapidly becoming the leading cause of CKD in developing countries. This is due to the global increase in type 2 diabetes and obesity. Diabetes accounts for 45 percent of prevalent kidney failure, up from 18 percent in 1980. When you have diabetes, your body fails to make enough insulin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the amount of sugar in your blood. High blood sugar levels causes problems in many parts of your body. Your kidneys contain countless small blood vessels and filtering units, which become damaged as a result of high sugar levels.
High Blood Pressure
Untreated high blood pressure can damage your kidneys. This damage can lead to heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. High blood pressure can reduce blood supply to the the kidneys. It also damages the countless small blood vessels and filtering units in your kidneys. This can prevent the kidneys form removing waste products from the blood and extra fluids. The extra fluid in your blood vessels can build up and raise blood pressure even more. According to guidelines issued by the National Kidney Foundation, if you have kidney disease, your target blood pressure should be below 130/80 mm Hg.
Glomerulonephritis
Glomerulonephritis is a disease that causes inflammation of the kidney's filtering units called the glomeruli. There are millions of glomeruli in the kidneys. When they become injured, the kidneys can no longer filter the blood properly and waste and fluid builds up in the body. If glomerulonephritis is not treated, it can lead to permanent kidney damage. The disease may be caused by infections such as strep throat. It may also be caused by other illnesses, including lupus. Glomerulonephritis might happen suddenly or may develop slowly over several years.
Polycystic Kidney Disease
Polycystic kidney disease is the most common inherited kidney disease. It causes cyst formation in the kidneys that grows over time and can cause serious kidney damage.
Kidney Stones
If left untreated, kidney stones can lead to CKD. If kidney stones are too large to pass, you can be treated by your doctor to remove the stones or bread them down into small bits so they will pass. If you have had one stone, you are at increased risk of having another one. Those who have developed one stone are at approximately 50 percent risk for developing another within five to seven years.
Repeated Urinary Infections
Repeated urinary infections can lead to CKD. Urinary tract infections cause symptoms such as pain and/or burning during urination and the need to urinate more frequently. These infections most often affect the bladder, but they sometimes spread to the kidneys, and they may cause fever and pain in your back.
References
- National Vital Statistics Report: Deaths. Final Data for 2005. National Vital Statistics Report. 2008
- Journal of the American Medical Association: Determining Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease
- Centers for Disease Control: Prevalence of Diabetes and HTN in CKD
- National Kidney Foundation: Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diabetes in Chronic Kidney Disease
- National Kidney Foundation: Clinical Practice Guidelines on Hypertension and Antihypertensive Agents in Chronic Kidney Disease
