Kidney Disease of Diabetes
The Burden of Kidney Failure
Each year in the United States, more than 100,000 people
are diagnosed with kidney failure, a serious condition in which the kidneys fail
to rid the body of wastes.1 Kidney failure is the final stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure, accounting for nearly 44
percent of new cases.1 Even when diabetes is controlled, the disease can lead to
chronic kidney disease and kidney failure. Most people with diabetes do not develop
chronic kidney disease that is
severe enough to progress to kidney failure. Nearly 24 million people in the
United States have diabetes, 2 and nearly 180,000 people are living with kidney
failure as a result of diabetes.1
People with kidney failure undergo either dialysis, an artificial
blood-cleaning process, or transplantation to receive a healthy kidney from a
donor. Most U.S. citizens who develop kidney failure are eligible for federally
funded care. In 2005, care for patients with kidney failure cost the United
States nearly $32 billion.1
Source: United States Renal Data System. USRDS 2007 Annual Data Report.
African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics/Latinos develop diabetes,
chronic kidney disease, and kidney failure at rates higher than Caucasians. Scientists have not
been able to explain these higher rates. Nor can they explain fully the
interplay of factors leading to kidney disease of diabetes—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.
Next: The Course of Kidney Disease »
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