You are at greater risk for kidney disease if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. If you experience kidney failure, treatments include kidney transplant or dialysis. Other kidney problems include acute kidney injury, kidney cysts, kidney stones, and kidney infections.
When kidneys lose this filtering ability, harmful levels of fluid and waste accumulate in the body, which can raise blood pressure and result in kidney failure (end-stage renal disease). End-stage renal disease occurs when the kidneys have lost about 90% of their ability to function normally. End-stage renal disease occurs when the kidneys have lost about 90% of their ability to function normally.What Is Chronic Kidney Disease?
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) means your kidneys are damaged and can’t filter blood the way they should. The main risk factors for developing kidney disease are diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and a family history of kidney failure.
Causes of CKD
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Your health care provider will look at your health history and may do tests to find out why you have kidney disease. The cause of your kidney disease may affect the type of treatment you receive.
time, your kidneys can become so damaged that they no longer do a good job filtering wastes and extra fluid from your blood.
Often, the first sign of kidney disease from diabetes is protein in your urine. When the filters are damaged, a protein called albumin, which you need to stay healthy, passes out of your blood and into your urine. A healthy kidney doesn’t let albumin pass from the blood into the urine.
Diabetic kidney disease is the medical term for kidney disease caused by diabetes.
High blood pressure can damage blood vessels in the kidneys so they don’t work as well. If the blood vessels in your kidneys are damaged, your kidneys may not work as well to remove wastes and extra fluid from your body. Extra fluid in the blood vessels may then raise blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle.
More information is provided in the NIDDK health topic, High Blood Pressure and Kidney Disease.
Other causes of kidney disease include:
- a genetic disorder that causes many cysts to grow in the kidneys, polycystic kidney disease (PKD).
- an infection
- a drug that is toxic to the kidneys
- a disease that affects the entire body, such as diabetes or lupus NIH external link. Lupus nephritis is the medical name for kidney disease caused by lupus
- IgA glomerulonephritis
- disorders in which the body’s immune system attacks its own cells and organs, such as Anti-GBM (Goodpasture's) disease
- heavy metal poisoning, such as lead poisoning NIH external link
- rare genetic conditions, such as Alport syndrome NIH external link
- hemolytic uremic syndrome in children
- IgA vasculitis
- renal artery stenosis
Contact Us
Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease
About Stage 1 CKD
People with stage 1 CKD have an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 90 or higher and ongoing kidney damage for 3 months or more.
“Kidney damage” can mean many things. This often presents as albuminuria – having a urine albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 30 or more for at least three months. Other examples of kidney damage can include frequent and/or long-lasting urinary tract infections (UTIs), blood in the urine (hematuria), kidney stones, kidney cysts, or abnormal findings during medical imaging (ultrasound, MRI, or CT scan) or urinalysis.
About Stage 2 CKD
People with stage 2 CKD have an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 60 and 89 and ongoing kidney damage for 3 months or more.
“Kidney damage” can mean many things. This often presents as albuminuria – having a urine albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 30 or more for at least three months. Other examples of kidney damage can include frequent and/or long-lasting urinary tract infections (UTIs), blood in the urine (hematuria), kidney stones, kidney cysts, or abnormal findings during medical imaging (ultrasound, MRI, or CT scan) or urinalysis.
Having evidence of ongoing kidney damage is required to be considered stage 2 CKD. In other words, just having an eGFR between 60 and 89 is not enough to meet the criteria for having CKD.
Health risks with stage 2 CKD
In stage 2 CKD, your UACR level is the main factor determining your health risk. If your UACR level is lower than 30, you are at the lowest risk for CKD getting worse (or you may not even have CKD if you don’t have any other kind of kidney damage present). As your UACR number goes up, your risks of developing heart disease and CKD progression (worsening) both go up (as seen in the figure below).
About Stage 3a CKD
Stage 3a CKD means you have mild to moderate loss of kidney function.
People with stage 3a CKD have an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 45 and 59 for 3 months or more (confirmed with repeat testing to make sure you don’t have acute kidney injury). Another way to think about these numbers is your kidneys are working at 45-59% of what the average two healthy kidneys in a young person can do.
This is the first stage of CKD where blood test results alone can confirm a diagnosis of CKD. Although urine albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR) results are not needed to confirm CKD at this stage, getting your uACR checked is still very important to gain a full picture of your kidney health, as shown in the graphic below.
Although this is the third stage of CKD, stages 3a and 3b are when most people with CKD are first diagnosed.
Health risks with stage 3a CKD
In stage 3a CKD, you are at increased risk for your CKD getting worse and you are at risk for heart disease (even if your uACR is lower than 30). As your uACR number goes up, your risks of developing heart disease and CKD progression (worsening) both go up dramatically (as seen in the figure below).
About Stage 4 CKD
Stage 4 CKD means you have severe loss of kidney function.
People with stage 4 CKD have an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 15 and 29 for 3 months or more (confirmed with repeat testing to make sure you don’t have acute kidney injury). Another way to think about these numbers is your kidneys are working at 15-29% of what the average two healthy kidneys in a young person can do.
Although urine albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR) results are not needed to confirm CKD at this stage, getting your uACR checked is still important to gain a full picture of your kidney health, as shown in the graphic below.
Health risks with stage 4 CKD
In stage 4 CKD, you are at the highest risk for having kidney failure and you are at very high risk for heart disease (even if your uACR is lower than 30). As your uACR number goes up, your risks of developing heart disease and kidney failure both go up. Getting your uACR level down as low as possible can still help lower your risk, even if you are not able to get your uACR level into the goal range.
About Stage 5 CKD
Stage 5 CKD means you have kidney failure (also known as end-stage kidney disease or ESKD).
People with stage 5 CKD have an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) less than 15 for 3 months or more (confirmed with repeat testing to make sure you don’t have acute kidney injury) or they are on dialysis. Another way to think about these numbers is your kidneys are working less than 15% of what the average two healthy kidneys in a young person can do. For this reason, people with stage 5 CKD will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.
Health risks with stage 5 CKD
In stage 5 CKD, you are at the highest risk for heart disease (even if your urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) is lower than 30). As your( UACR) number goes up, your risk of developing heart disease also goes up.
1.1.4 It is estimated that approximately 30 million American adults have CKD and millions of others are at increased risk.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three American adults is at high risk for developing kidney disease.
CKD can greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, and people with CKD often have other risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood lipids.
The most common cause of death in people with CKD is cardiovascular disease (rather than kidney failure).
People at high risk for CKD include those with diabetes, hypertension, and family history of kidney failure.
Chronic kidney disease is closely associated with high blood pressure, also called Hypertension (HTN). The conditions share an intermingled cause and effect relationship, and a diagnosis of one often precedes a diagnosis of the other.
Studies have shown that African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Seniors are at increased risk for CKD.
CKD is commonly diagnosed by:
Testing blood pressure
Testing for creatinine in the bloodstream
Testing for protein in urine
Through an imaging test
Through removing a sample of kidney tissue for testing (a biopsy).
Related Disease: (KF)
Related Diseases Explore a range of kidney-related conditions, from IgA nephropathy to polycystic kidney disease (PKD), and discover strategies to manage and adapt to these challenges effectively.
Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic disorder that causes many cysts to grow in the kidneys. PKD cysts cause high blood pressure and problems with blood vessels in the brain and heart. Cysts in the liver can also occur with PKD.
Autosomal dominant PKD is often not diagnosed until later in adulthood. For this reason, health care providers often call autosomal dominant PKD "adult PKD." In many cases, PKD does not cause signs or symptoms until cysts are half an inch or larger.
Autosomal recessive PKD is a rare genetic disorder that affects the liver as well as the kidneys. The signs of autosomal recessive PKD frequently appear in the earliest months of life, even in the womb, so health care providers often call it "infantile PKD."
PKD may require changes in what you eat to control blood pressure. Following a healthy eating plan can help lower blood pressure. A health care provider may recommend the DASH eating plan, which focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and foods lower in sodium.
IgA Nephropathy
What is immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy?
IgA nephropathy is an autoimmune disease that occurs when clumps of antibodies are deposited in your kidneys, causing inflammation and kidney damage. Clumps of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and other antibodies damage the glomeruli, tiny blood vessels in your kidneys that filter blood, causing your kidneys to leak blood and protein into your urine. The damage may also lead to the scarring of the nephrons, the filtering units where the glomeruli are located.
Does IgA nephropathy have another name?
IgA nephropathy is also known as Berger’s disease.
How common is IgA nephropathy?
IgA nephropathy is a common kidney disease, and an important cause of chronic kidney disease and kidney failure.1 About 1 in 10 kidney biopsies in the United States show IgA nephropathy.
Who is more likely to have IgA nephropathy?
IgA nephropathy is more common in people who1–3
- have a family history of the disease or of IgA vasculitis
- have certain health conditions, such as celiac disease, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and HIV infection NIH external link
- are ages 10 to 40
- are of East Asian or white European ancestry
- are male
Kidney Stones
What are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are hard, pebble-like pieces of material that form in one or both of your kidneys when high levels of certain minerals are in your urine. Kidney stones rarely cause permanent damage if treated by a health care professional. Kidney stones vary in size and shape. They may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pea. Rarely, some kidney stones are as big as golf balls. Kidney stones may be smooth or jagged and are usually yellow or brown. A small kidney stone may pass through your urinary tract on its own, causing little or no pain. A larger kidney stone may get stuck along the way. A kidney stone that gets stuck can block your flow of urine, causing severe pain or bleeding. Learn more about your urinary tract and how it works. If you have symptoms of kidney stones, including severe pain or bleeding, seek care right away. A doctor, such as a urologist, can treat any pain and prevent further problems, such as a urinary tract infection (UTI). Do kidney stones have another name? The scientific name for a kidney stone is renal calculus or nephrolith. You may hear health care professionals call this condition nephrolithiasis, urolithiasis, or urinary stones.