Kidney Disease can be a Complication Arising from Diabetes

In industrialized countries, renal epidemiology is faced with the growing epidemic of diabetes as cause of renal involvement or as an associated condition. Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of end stage renal disease in the Western world. Keeping your kidneys healthy could be one of the best ways to extend your life if you have Type 2 diabetes, researchers have suggested. Diabetes has a negative impact on survival in end-stage renal disease, particularly for type 1 diabetes patients and for women with diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, improvement in early access to renal transplant could lead to improvement in outcomes, whereas they are usually contra-indicated for transplant because rapid decline in cardiovascular status on dialysis.

Approximately 5% of people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes, and careful management of their condition through a combination of medication and lifestyle changes can mean it has relatively little impact on their lives. However, if the disease has been present for some time prior to diagnosis, or is poorly managed afterwards, the risk of life-changing complications rises.

The research, in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, looked at mortality rates over a 10-year period in more than 15,000 adults, with and without diabetes.

The result showed that kidney disease was present in 9.4% of the people without diabetes, and 42.3% of those with diabetes. They found that 7.7% of those without diabetes or kidney disease died over the course of the decade-long study. This rose to 11.5% for people with diabetes but no kidney disease, but soared to 31.1% for people with diabetes and kidney disease.

If detected early, diabetic kidney disease could be controlled using blood pressure medication.

However, the charity's 2012 report found that as many as three in 10 patients were missing out the simple blood or urine tests that would reveal their kidney problems.

She said: "There really is no excuse for this - there is clear guidance saying that kidney function should be tested.” “Very often the doctor will be taking blood for other purposes, such as checking cholesterol levels, so it is the easiest thing in the world to do.” the researchers said.