Kidney disease, chronic

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a chronic (long-term) condition where the kidneys progressively lose their function.

CKD does not usually cause any symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage. The main symptoms include:

• tiredness
• swollen ankles, feet or hands (due to water retention)
• shortness of breath
• blood in the urine

The kidneys

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on either side of the body, just underneath the ribcage. The main role of the kidneys is to filter out waste products from the blood before converting them into urine. The kidneys also:

• help maintain blood pressure
• maintain the correct levels of chemicals in your body which, in turn, will help the heart and muscles to function properly
• produce a type of vitamin D, which is used to keep bones healthy
• produce a substance called erythropoietin, which helps stimulate the production of red blood cells

How common is chronic kidney disease?

CKD is very common and is primarily associated with ageing. The older you get, the more likely you are to have some degree of kidney disease. For example, it is estimated that about one in five men and one in four women between the ages of 65 and 74 have some degree of CKD.

The most common cause of CKD is damage caused by other chronic (long-term) conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension).

As rates of diabetes and high blood pressure are higher in people of South Asian origin (those from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan), CKD levels are also higher among these groups compared with the general population.

CKD rates are also higher in black people because they have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure. 

Outlook

CKD is a potentially serious condition because the kidneys carry out several important functions within the body, such as filtering waste products from the blood and regulating blood flow.

However, if the condition is diagnosed at an early stage, further damage to the kidneys can be prevented with a combination of lifestyle changes and medication, and more serious symptoms and complications can be avoided.

Sometimes, kidney disease cannot be stopped and the kidneys lose almost all of their functioning capability. This is known as established renal failure (ERF) or end-stage kidney disease. In order to survive, people with ERF require either dialysis (where the blood is artificially filtered by a machine) or a kidney transplant.