Why do kidneys fail?

There are, of course, many different reasons for decreased kidney function. Two of the most common are diabetes and high blood pressure. Statistically, they account for roughly half of all adult causes.

Diabetes
If you have diabetes – and are not controlling it properly – sugar will start building up in your blood. When the amount of sugar becomes too high it can damage the nephrons in your kidneys. This will reduce the ability of your kidneys to filter out waste products and fluids. Although treatment of diabetes has improved a lot many people having diabetes still may develop kidney damage after 20-30 years. There are two types of diabetes. Diabetes type 1 means that your body does not produce enough insulin to break down the sugar in your blood. Diabetes type 2 means that you are not making effective use of the insulin you produce. Both types of diabetes have genetic links, meaning that the risk of getting the disease is somewhat higher within families. Lifestyle factors play an important role in type2 diabetes and, in persons who are overweight; weight loss can in the best of cases eliminate the diabetes.

High blood pressure
High blood pressure occurs when the pressure of your blood against the walls of your blood vessels increases. If your blood pressure is too high it can lead to heart diseases, strokes and Chronic Kidney Disease. High blood pressure will damage the small blood vessels in your kidneys and thus prevent the filtering process from working properly. The reasons for high blood pressure are to a large extent unknown. However, in many cases they seem to be connected with your general health, lifestyle and diet.

Kidney inflammation
Another common type of kidney disease is inflammation in the kidney's filtering units. This may cause decrease in the output of urine, the spilling of blood and protein into the urine, and swelling of hands and feet (oedema). There are many kinds of inflammation in the kidneys, always affecting both of them and sometimes also other body organs.

Other causes for kidney failure
Polycystic kidney disease, one of the inherited diseases, can cause large cysts to form in the kidneys and damage the surrounding tissue and lead to kidney failure. Malformations in the kidneys are very unusual but can occur as a baby develops in its mother's womb. For example, a narrowing of the urethra may prevent normal outflow of urine and cause urine to flow back up to the kidney. This causes infections and may damage the kidneys. Obstructions in the outflow of urine can also be caused by problems like kidney stones, tumors or an enlarged prostate gland in men which may lead to Chronic Kidney Disease. Repeated urinary infections may also be a reason for kidney failure.

Causes unknown
Some 20 per cent of dialysis patients never find a cause for their kidney failure. These patients come under treatment for the first time when their kidney failure is far advanced and at this stage it is difficult to establish the reason for their disease.