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What are the causes of Chronic kidney disease?
The leading causes of Chronic kidney disease are:
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Glomerulonephritis
• Cystic kidney disease.
As can be seen, diabetes is the most common cause, with almost half of all people with Chronic kidney disease having diabetes.
All four of these leading causes have been increasing over time.
Chronic kidney disease can be classified into glomerular diseases, tubulointerstitial diseases, vascular diseases, and cystic and congenital diseases.
These can be due to systemic diseases (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus causing glomerulonephritis) or be a primary kidney disease (e.g., idiopathic focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis).
Chronic kidney disease is not one unifying diagnosis but a term encompassing multiple diseases with unique pathophysiology and treatment.
Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease
| Location | Examples |
|---|---|
| Glomerular | Focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis, IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis, minimal change disease |
| Tubulointerstitial | Urinary tract infection, autoimmune disease, stones, obstruction |
| Vascular | Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated kidney limited vasculitis, fibromuscular dysplasia |
| Cystic and congenital | Kidney dysplasia, medullary cystic disease |
