Why diabetes patients need yearly kidney checks
Did you know that kidneys can be damaged if blood sugar is too high for too long? Here's why you should get your kidneys checked on an annual basis.
The kidneys are just one set of organs that fare better when blood sugar and blood pressure are in the healthy range. In fact, diabetes and hypertension are the two leading causes of kidney disease. So, following your diabetes care plan and taking blood pressure meds (if needed) will offer you the fringe benefit of protecting your kidney health. If that doesn't sound very exciting, maybe these facts and figures on kidney disease in America will give you a better picture of why an annual check of how they function is one of the "standards" when it comes to diabetes care.
The stats
- Healthy kidneys filter up to 150 quarts of blood every day.
- More than 350,000 people are on dialysis, in which a medical device is used to remove wastes from the blood when kidneys fail.
- More than 100,000 Americans are on the wait list for a kidney transplant, which is a type of surgery done when a person's kidneys stop working.
- More than 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease, which means it will be with them for the rest of their lives.
- The American Diabetes Association says that people with diabetes should be screened for Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) at least 1 time each year.
The facts
- The kidneys remove wastes from the blood and produce urine.
- Kidneys also regulate blood pressure and fluid levels in the body, and produce some types of hormones.
- Reaching and maintaining glucose and blood pressure goals can help slow or prevent DKD.
- When DKD is found early, treatments can help slow down its progress.
- In its early stages, DKD doesn't cause symptoms, but a blood or urine test can detect it before any symptoms occur.
Testing for kidney disease is easy
It can be done with a simple urine test and/or blood test. Each test measures the buildup of wastes that would normally be filtered out if the kidneys were working as they should. If you have Type 2 diabetes, or if you have had Type 1 diabetes for more than 5 years, you should get tested every year. Ask your doctor if you're due for one or both of these tests to check on the health of your kidneys.
