Kidney Disease and High Risk Groups

Kidney disease affects adults of all races and ages. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, or who have a family member with kidney failure are more likely to develop chronic kidney disease. Twenty million Americans have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Another 20 million are at risk for developing CKD, and many don't even know it.

Certain communities, including African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans have an even higher increased risk of developing kidney disease, due to high rates of diabetes and high blood pressure within these ethnic groups. High blood pressure and diabetes can damage your kidneys without any warning, and are the leading causes of kidney failure.

Kidney failure due to high blood pressure is 20 times greater in African Americans who are 20 to 44 years old than in European Americans of the same age. Over the past 35 years, the number of cases of diabetes in African Americans has doubled. About 1/3 of African Americans with diabetes do not know they have it.

Healthy kidneys filter your blood, and remove waste and extra fluid. They help control normal body chemistry and regulate blood pressure and red blood cell production. When kidneys are diseased, they stop working well. It is important to get treatment in order to prevent or delay kidney failure. If not treated, kidney disease can lead to kidney failure. When that happens, dialysis or kidney transplantation is the only treatment option.

Early kidney disease is a silent problem, like high blood pressure. Kidney disease can become kidney failure with little or no warning, and is usually discovered right before the kidneys fail. At least 43% of African Americans on dialysis did not know they had kidney failure until one week before they began dialysis.

If you are an African American, Asian Pacific American, Hispanic or Native American, you have an increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family member with kidney failure, a doctor or healthcare professional should test your blood and urine for early signs of kidney disease.

For information on NKC free kidney screenings,  click here.