What Causes End-Stage Renal Disease?
What Causes End-Stage Renal Disease?
What Causes End-Stage Renal Disease?
Each year in the United States, more than 50,000 people are diagnosed with end-stage renal
disease (ESRD), a serious condition in which the kidneys fail to rid the body of wastes. ESRD is
the final stage of a slow deterioration of the kidneys, a process known as nephropathy.
Diabetes is the most common cause of ESRD, resulting in about one-third of new ESRD cases.
Even when drugs and diet
are able to control diabetes, the disease can lead to nephropathy and ESRD. Most people with
diabetes do not develop nephropathy that is severe enough to cause ESRD. About 15 million people
in the United States have diabetes, and about 50,000 people have ESRD as a result of diabetes.
Other causes include:
• Interstitial Nephritis - 2.9 percent
ESRD patients undergo either dialysis, which substitutes for some of the filtering functions of
the kidneys, or transplantation to receive a healthy donor kidney. Most U.S. citizens who
develop ESRD are eligible for federally funded care. In 1994, the Federal Government spent
about $9.3 billion on care for patients with ESRD.
Also, people with diabetes who have high blood pressure, or hypertension, have increased odd
of developing kidney disease. Both a family history of hypertension and the presence of
hypertension appear to increase chances of developing kidney disease. Hypertension also
accelerates the progress of kidney disease where it already exists.
The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for End-stage renal disease
includes the 10 symptoms listed below:
• Reduced urine
• Total lack of urine
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Uremia - causing various symptoms of uremia:
o Drowsiness
o Confusion
o Seizures
o Coma
The list of complications that have been mentioned in various sources for End-stage renal
disease includes:
• Uremia
• Shock
• Seizures
• Coma
Prognosis
Deaths from End-stage renal disease: 76,584 deaths in patients undergoing treatment in the
USA 2001 (United States Renal Data System 2003 Annual Data Report, 2003)
Estimated mortality rate for End-stage renal disease from prevalence and deaths
statistics:
• Deaths: 76,583 (USA annual deaths calculated from this data: 76,584 deaths in
patients undergoing treatment in the USA 2001 (United States Renal Data System 2003
Annual Data Report, 2003))
• Incidence: 392,022 (USA prevalence calculated from this data: 392,023 people in the
USA 2001 (United States Renal Data System 2003 Annual Data Report, 2003)
• 19.5% (ratio of deaths to prevalence).
• See also Deaths and End-stage renal disease and Overview of End-stage renal
disease.
Estimated mortality rate for End-stage renal disease from incidence and deaths
statistics:
• Deaths: 76,583 (USA annual deaths calculated from this data: 76,584 deaths in
patients undergoing treatment in the USA 2001 (United States Renal Data System 2003
Annual Data Report, 2003))
• Incidence: 89,252 (USA annual incidence calculated from this data: 89,252 new
cases (NIDDK)
• 85.8% (ratio of deaths to incidence).
The list of risk factors mentioned for End-stage renal disease in various sources includes:
• Kidney disease
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Family history of hypertension