Just how common is diabetic nephropathy?

Diabetic nephropathy is a common complication of diabetes that affects somewhere between 20 and 40 percent of persons with diabetes. This complication is associated with renal disease, an increased risk of cardiovascular (heart) disease and premature death.

As previously mentioned, about 10 percent of adults in the US have diabetes, but it is not equally distributed between age groups. Looking at persons age 65 and older, we see that 27 percent of this population group has diabetes. Among the adult population with diagnosed diabetes, 34.5 percent are affected by diabetic nephropathy.  In addition to persons older than 65, prevalence of diabetic nephropathy varied among ethnic groups in the US; the rates are higher for Hispanics, Asian and African-Americans when compared to whites.

Really quick – here are two words we need to define before moving on.

Morbidity – Having a disease

Mortality – The number of deaths in a population

The leading cause of end stage renal disease is diabetic nephropathy. End stage renal disease is another way of saying permanent damage to the kidney that ultimately leads to loss of function. When function is lost, the kidneys cannot do their main job – filtering the blood and removing waste products. In addition to accounting for a significant number of end stage renal failure cases, diabetic nephropathy is associated with a high mortality rate from cardiovascular disease.

In summary, diabetic nephropathy is a common complication of diabetes that continues to increase in the US population. It is strongly associated with end stage renal disease.  Cardiovascular disease (heart disease) associated with diabetic nephropathy is associated with a high rate of morbidity and mortality.  And ultimately, the United States spends millions of dollars each year to treat diabetes and its associated complications.

Chen, Jing. (2014) Diabetic Nephropathy: Scope of the Problem. Diabetes and Kidney Disease, 9-14. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4939