Fewer people with diabetes developing kidney failure

Jan. 6, 2010—The number of people with diabetes who experience end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure, is on the decline, according to a study in the January issue of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) journal Diabetes Care.

The study didn’t look at reasons for the decline, but researchers said it is likely due to improvements in treatment and care that help reduce kidney failure risk factors such as high blood pressure and high blood glucose levels.

Diabetes is still the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44 percent of all new cases, according to the ADA. But the study found that cases of kidney failure in people with diabetes declined by 3.9 percent per year between 1997 and 2006. The decline occurred in men and women of all ages, as well as in both black and white people. However, significant declines weren’t found among Hispanics.

“This suggests that current efforts to prevent ESRD may be successful among many people with diabetes,” said Nilka Ríos Burrows, lead researcher and an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Diabetes Translation. “However, it’s clear that more attention needs to be paid to prevention efforts among Hispanics.”

Learn more about diabetes and kidney disease here.

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January 6, 2010 from the Iredell Health System Hospital News