Diabetes is a condition that affects how the body uses sugar, which is also known as glucose. Glucose is the main source of energy for the body’s cells.
When a person has diabetes, the level of sugar in the blood becomes too high. Over time, this extra sugar can damage many parts of the body, including the eyes, nerves, heart, and especially the kidneys.
One of the most serious long-term problems linked to diabetes is a condition called chronic kidney disease.
The kidneys are two small, bean-shaped organs located in the lower back. Even though they are small, they have a very important job. They filter waste and extra water from the blood and send it out of the body in the form of urine.
They also help control blood pressure and keep the right balance of salts and minerals in the body. When the kidneys are damaged, they cannot perform these jobs properly.
According to global research, up to 40 percent of people living with diabetes will develop chronic kidney disease at some point in their lives. This means that nearly one out of every two or three people with diabetes could experience damage to their kidneys.
This makes chronic kidney disease one of the most common and dangerous complications of diabetes. A specialist in kidney health, Dr. Ivan Porter II from the Mayo Clinic in Florida, has explained how this process happens.
When too much sugar stays in the blood for a long time, it starts to damage the tiny blood vessels that are found inside the kidneys. The kidneys are full of very small blood vessels because they must constantly filter the blood. High levels of sugar change these blood vessels and make them weak and scarred.
Over time, this leads to a problem called protein in the urine. Normally, protein stays in the blood, but a damaged kidney allows it to leak into the urine. The presence of protein in the urine makes the kidneys even more inflamed and causes more scarring. This slow scarring of the kidneys is what leads to long-term kidney failure.
Kidney disease caused by diabetes does not always show clear symptoms in the early stages. A person can lose a large part of kidney function without feeling very different. This is why many people are not diagnosed until the disease is already in a later stage.
If kidney disease gets worse and reaches the final stage, a person will need dialysis, which is a machine that cleans the blood, or they will need a kidney transplant to survive.
Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can cause chronic kidney disease. However, type 2 diabetes is much more common and therefore is the leading cause of kidney failure around the world. In both types of diabetes, the body does not have enough insulin, or it cannot use insulin properly.
Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, and it helps sugar move from the blood into the body’s cells. If this process does not work well, sugar builds up in the blood and continues to damage blood vessels, including those in the kidneys.
The relationship between diabetes and kidney disease is complicated. On the one hand, high blood sugar damages the kidneys and causes kidney disease.
On the other hand, when the kidneys stop working well, the body can become more resistant to insulin. This can make blood sugar even harder to control, especially in people who already have diabetes. So the two conditions can make each other worse over time.
Doctors use a test called the glomerular filtration rate, or GFR, to measure how well the kidneys are working. This number shows how much blood the kidneys can filter in a minute. There are five stages of chronic kidney disease. In the first stage, the kidneys still work at a normal level, but there are signs of damage such as blood or protein in the urine.
In the second stage, kidney function is slightly lower. By stage three, there is a clear loss of kidney function. Stage three is further divided into two parts, with the second part being more serious. Stage four means severe damage, and stage five is kidney failure, where dialysis or a transplant is needed.
Most people are not diagnosed with kidney disease until stage three or later. This is because the earlier stages often do not cause obvious symptoms.
Conditions such as high blood pressure, poorly controlled diabetes, and high levels of protein in the urine can make kidney damage progress faster. These health problems put even more stress on the kidneys and speed up the scarring process.
Not everyone with diabetes will develop kidney disease. The best way to reduce the risk is to keep blood sugar levels under control.
This means following a healthy eating plan, taking medications as directed by a doctor, and being physically active on a regular basis. It is also very important to have regular check-ups, including blood and urine tests, to monitor kidney function over time.
Managing diabetes also includes planning for situations that can affect blood sugar levels, such as illness, emotional stress, and hormonal changes.
For women, hormone shifts during the menstrual cycle, perimenopause, and menopause can change blood sugar levels. Being aware of these changes can help people adjust their lifestyle and medical care more effectively.
There are also risk factors for type 2 diabetes that people can work on improving. These include avoiding excess weight, staying physically active, eating a balanced diet, keeping good cholesterol at healthy levels, and limiting or avoiding alcohol. These steps can lower the risk of getting type 2 diabetes and, in turn, lower the risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
After carefully reviewing the study and expert explanations, it is clear that the link between diabetes and kidney disease is strong and deeply connected to how the body handles sugar over time. High blood sugar slowly damages the tiny blood vessels inside the kidneys, leading to scarring and loss of function.
Because the early stages do not cause clear symptoms, many people are unaware of the damage happening inside their bodies. This makes regular health checks and good diabetes control absolutely essential.
The study highlights a powerful message: managing blood sugar is not only about preventing short-term problems, but also about protecting vital organs, such as the kidneys, for the long term. With early action, lifestyle changes, and proper medical care, many cases of serious kidney disease could be prevented or delayed.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes, and to people with diabetes, some fruits are better than others.
For more health information, please see recent studies that low calorie diets may help reverse diabetes, and 5 vitamins that may prevent complication in diabetes.
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