Studies done on the population of patients with CKD suggests that the two main causes are diabetes and hypertension. Together accounting for 30% of cases. When we look at patients who are already on dialysis the number jumps to almost 50%.
Diabetes is a condition where there is excess sugar in the blood stream, as a result of this the high concentrations of sugar damage the cells of the kidney leading to scarring of the delicate structures responsible for filtering the blood.
In hypertension the increased pressures that occur stress the the walls of the blood vessels within the body causing them to lose there elasticity or ability to stretch in response to increased pressures. This results in hardening of the blood vessels and decreased blood flow within the kidney which ultimately damages it.
Other causes of chronic kidney disease exist such as:
- Inflammation of the kidneys such as due to glomerulonephritis a long name for...you guessed it "inflammation of the kidney".
- Chronic infections of the kidney.
- Inherited problems with kidney development such as polycystic kidney disease.
- Obstruction of the flow of urine from the kidney such as in enlargement of the prostate.
- Cancer.
....and this is by no means an exhaustive list.
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