Chronic Kidney Disease & Diabetes

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44% percent of new cases.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common and can be found in up to 23% of patients with diabetes.About 25% of people with diabetes eventually develop kidney disease. Diabetes is often associated with CKD, and for 45% of patients who receive dialysis therapy, diabetes is the primary cause of their kidney failure.Additionally, moderate to severe CKD is estimated to be found in 15-23% of patients with diabetes.

Statistics. Statistics. Statistics.

All of them on how CKD & diabetes go hand in hand...because they do.

It is important to recognize the impact of this combination because the risk of events and death from a cardiovascular disease is significantly increased compared to individuals without these conditions, and for individuals with protein in urine, the risk of cardiovascular disease is twice that compared to individuals without it.
Identification and diagnosis of CKD is important to optimize health & wellness of patients suffering from this combination.

Chronic kidney disease means the kidneys have been damaged by conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or glomerulonephritis. As a result, the kidneys aren’t able to perform their functions leading to multiple other complications in the body.

Diabetes is a disease in which your body does not make enough insulin or cannot use normal amounts of insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the amount of sugar in your blood. A high blood sugar level can cause various problems in different parts of your body.

• With diabetes, the small blood vessels in the body are injured. When the blood vessels in the kidneys are injured, your kidneys cannot clean your blood properly. This tends to make your body retain more water and salt than it should, which can result in weight gain and ankle swelling. You may have protein in your urine. Other waste materials will also build up in your blood.

• Diabetes also may cause damage to your nervous system. This can cause difficulty in emptying your bladder. The pressure resulting from your full bladder can back up and injure the kidneys. 

• Also, if urine remains in your bladder for a long time, you can develop an infection from the rapid growth of bacteria in urine that has a high sugar level.

Sometimes people with CKD may not feel ill or notice any symptoms at all. Although some of the signs may include;

The treatment for diabetic kidney disease includes controlling blood pressure and blood sugar levels, reducing dietary protein intake, avoiding medications that may damage the kidneys, treating urinary tract infections, exercise and weight loss.

Urine samples directly reflect on kidney health since they are responsible for the production of urine. Any anomaly in the kidneys; and it will immediately be seen in your urine, which is why urinalysis and urine dipstick tests are the way to go, to monitor renal health. 

Early detection of kidney diseases can be life-saving. 

Neodocs Wellness Cards offer a smartphone based home test that helps you monitor your kidney health and blood sugar level in the comfort of your home by measuring kidney related urine parameters like creatinine, protein, and calcium along with urine glucose levels.