Chronic kidney disease is an exceptionally common condition with non-specific symptoms that develop slowly over time. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two most common causes of the disease in adults.
The kidneys filter waste and excess fluid from the blood to be excreted through urination. When chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not properly managed in the early stages, kidney function will gradually degrade, and eventually develop into chronic renal failure, known as uremia.
Kidney patients may experience edema, fatigue, anemia, oliguria, or lack of urine production. CKD may also be accompanied by high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, and may result in premature death. In the later stage, dialysis treatment or kidney transplantation is required.
Causes of CKD
- Diabetes.
- Hypertension.
- Glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the tiny filters in the kidneys).
- Interstitial nephritis (inflamed kidney tubules).
- Polycystic kidney disease (cysts).
- Long-term urinary tract obstruction, such as enlarged prostate, kidney stones, and cancerous tumors.
- Drugs that cause nephropathy (deterioration of kidney function).
Stages of CKD
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a functional index that indicates how good the kidneys are at filtering waste from the blood and can reflect the degree of damage to the kidneys. The National Kidney Foundation divides CKD into five levels of severity based on the GFR value.- Stage I: GFR greater than 90—normal kidney function.
- Stage II: GFR = 60~89—mild damage to the kidneys.
- Stage III: GFR = 30~59—moderately impaired renal function.
- Stage IV: GFR = 15~29—kidney function is severely impaired.
- Stage V: GFR less than 15—kidneys cannot function normally, uremic symptoms appear, and hemodialysis (a treatment to filter wastes and water from the blood) may be needed.
