Diabetic Kidney Disease (Nephropathy) Flashcards
What is Nephropathy?
The medical term that is used for the type of kidney disease that occurs in people with diabetes.
What is Nephropathy in diabetes?
This is subtle damage to the kidneys that can start within one year of having type 1 diabetes, but in type 2 diabetes it can be present at the diagnosis.
It usually takes around 5-10 years for the changes to become noticeable.
Who gets diabetic kidney disease?
Rough estimates state that 6%-27% of people with type 1 diabetes will progress to having diabetic kidney disease.
In type 2, estimates for diabetic kidney disease range between 25% and 50%.
What factors can increase a persons risk of developing diabetic kidney disease?
If a person has poor glucose control, this can increase the risk of developing diabetic kidney disease.
Moderately high blood pressure can increase the risk of getting diabetic kidney disease, and can even make it worse.
What are the symptoms of diabetic kidney disease?
There are no immediate symptoms when the disease first develops, however the following signs of when there is a decrease in kidney function are the following:
Fatigue Nausea/vomiting Itchy skin Metallic taste in the mouth Heartburn Swelling in the limbs or eyelids, due to the build up of fluid in the tissues (oedema).
What problems can diabetic kidney disease cause?
The kidneys are essential organs for filtering and eliminating waste products of metabolism, they have central control of the blood pressure and fluid balance in the body, and they produce erythropoietin which stimulates the bone marrow to manufacture red blood cells.
Diabetic kidney disease is the most common type of kidney failure in the UK.
It is common for people with diabetic kidney disease to have raised blood pressure. This accelerates the decline in kidney function in Nephropathy. If blood pressure is lowered; then the rate of progression of diabetic kidney disease is slowed down.
What is the recommended blood pressure for a diabetic patient with diabetic kidney disease?
The target blood pressure is 130/80mmHg.
What problems does diabetic kidney disease cause for the NHS?
People with poor kidney function require some form of artificial kidney support (dialysis) or a kidney transplant.
The increasing numbers of people with Type 2 diabetes has increased the demand for these treatments, and these figures have been increasing for several years.
What is diabetic kidney disease?
This is caused by long standing diabetes. It causes a change in the small blood vessels that can lead to damage of the kidneys.
This can result in severe kidney failure.
