Diabetes (mostly type 2) and High Blood Pressure are the two primary causes of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Both of these conditions can be controlled by healthful lifestyle choices, including working with your health care provider to find and take the right medications for you.
Childhood obesity has risen sharply in the last decade along with resulting type 2 Diabetes, previously known as "adult onset diabetes".
The Big Picture:
Over 26 million, or 1 in 8, Americans have CKD. Most are not aware they are at risk or have this disorder because it has few early warning signs. Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the U.S. In addition, CKD disproportionately affects ethnic minorities, with African Americans experiencing kidney failure more than 4 times the rate of white Americans.
Kidney failure requires either dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. In 2005, there were 485,000 Americans with kidney failure; this figure is expected to increase to over 800,000 by 2020. Early identification of high blood pressure and diabetes and then treatment of both, through healthy life style changes and medications, can prevent the kidney damage caused by these conditions and prevent or delay CKD and ultimately kidney failure.
Late detection and treatment of CKD has significant costs: 7% of the Medicare population has been diagnosed with CKD. Treating these same individuals account for almost 21% of the total Medicare cost annually: $42 billion.
National Kidney Foundation (NKF) promotes health lifestyle choices and prevention of CKD and its risk factors through its Healthy Kidneys for Life -- a 5th grade curriculum presented at public schools throughout the region. Please
click here to find out more about HKFL.
Making healthy lifestyle choices is challenging to extremely difficult in our culture of abundance and technology. See the links below for resources that are available to support you to take care of yourself and live well.
