Kidney Disease of Diabetes

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http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/kdd/index.htm

Kidney Disease of Diabetes

Each year in the United States, nearly 100,000 people are diagnosed

with kidney failure, a serious condition in which the kidneys fail to

rid the body of wastes. Kidney failure is the final stage of a slow

deterioration of the kidneys, a process known as nephropathy.

Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure, accounting for

more than 40 percent of new cases. Even when drugs and diet are able

to control diabetes, the disease can lead to nephropathy and kidney

failure. Most people with diabetes do not develop nephropathy that is

severe enough to cause kidney failure. About 17 million people in the

United States have diabetes, and over 100,000 people are living with

kidney failure as a result of diabetes.

People with kidney failure undergo either dialysis, which substitutes

for some of the filtering functions of the kidneys, or

transplantation to receive a healthy donor kidney. Most U.S. citizens

who develop kidney failure are eligible for federally funded care. In

2000, care for patients with kidney failure cost the Nation nearly

$20 billion.

African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans develop

diabetes, nephropathy, and kidney failure at rates higher than

average. Scientists have not been able to explain these higher rates.

Nor can they explain fully the interplay of factors leading to

diabetic nephropathy--factors including heredity, diet, and other

medical conditions, such as high blood pressure. They have found that

high blood pressure and high levels of blood glucose increase the

risk that a person with diabetes will progress to kidney failure.