Written By: Debjani Arora | Published : September 2, 2018 8:23 PM IST
Kidney disease is common in people with diabetes. © Shutterstock
Diabetes has now become a global epidemic. There are an estimated 450 million people with diabetes worldwide, of whom almost 40% live in India and China alone. In India, there are estimated 72 million people with diabetes and these numbers are expected to increase to 134 million in the next 10 to 15 years. Uncontrolled diabetes can affect many organs and the kidney is one of the most serious of all complications of diabetes. Here Dr V Mohan of Dr Mohan's Diabetes Specialties Centre, talks to us about diabetes and kidney disease.
After 15 to 20 years of diabetes, nearly a third of people with diabetes develop kidney complications. Indeed, diabetes mellitus is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease and kidney failure in the world and almost 40% of all diagnosis and transplants are done in people with diabetes. Therefore, it is essential that clinicians treating people with diabetes understand how to appropriately screen patients for diabetic kidney disease so that they may implement an appropriate treatment strategy that is focused on prevention of kidney diseases and if is already present, to try to slow down its progression.
Stages of diabetic kidney disease
This first stage of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is called microalbuminuria. The kidney's filtration function usually remains normal during this period. However, small amounts of albumin begin to leak into the urine. As the disease progresses, larger quantities of albumin leak in to the urine. This stage is called macroalbuminuria or proteinuria. Slowly the kidneys' filtering capacity begins to drop and the body begins to retain various waste products as filtration falls. As kidney damage develops further, the blood pressure rises and this further damages the kidney. After months or years, the DKD may progress to end stage renal disease (ESRD), which requires a person to have a kidney transplant or regular dialysis.
