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Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff

Chronic kidney failure occurs when a disease or condition impairs kidney function, causing kidney damage to worsen over several months or years.

Diseases and conditions that commonly cause chronic kidney failure include:

  • Type 1 or type 2 diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Glomerulonephritis (gloe-mer-u-lo-nuh-FRY-tis), an inflammation of the kidney's filtering units (glomeruli)
  • Polycystic kidney disease
  • Prolonged obstruction of the urinary tract, from conditions such as enlarged prostate, kidney stones and some cancers
  • Vesicoureteral (ves-ih-koe-yoo-REE-ter-ul) reflux, a condition that causes urine to back up into your kidneys
  • Recurrent kidney infection, also called pyelonephritis
Risk factors Symptoms
References
  1. Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191371208-2/0/1492/0.html#. Accessed April 2, 2012.
  2. Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2012: 5 Books in 1. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05611-3..C2009-0-38601-8--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05611-3&uniqId=291436269-101. Accessed April 2, 2012.
  3. Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..X0001-1--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05472-0&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed April 2, 2012.
  4. Bope ET, et al. Conn's Current Therapy. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0986-5..C2009-0-38984-9--TOP&isbn=978-1-4377-0986-5&about=true&uniqId=236797353-5. Accessed April 3, 2012.
  5. About chronic kidney disease: A guide for patients and their families. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/aboutckd.cfm. Accessed April 3, 2012.
  6. Coping effectively: A guide to living well with kidney failure. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/pdf/coping.pdf. Accessed April 3, 2012.
  7. Kidney failure: Choosing a treatment that's right for you. National Kidney & Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/KUDiseases/pubs/choosingtreatment/index.aspx. Accessed April 2, 2012.
  8. Chronic kidney disease stage 5: Nutrition guidelines. Nutrition Care Manual. American Dietetic Association. http://nutritioncaremanual.org/index.cfm. Accessed April 3, 2012.
  9. The kidneys and how they work. National Kidney & Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/yourkidneys/. Accessed April 4, 2012.
  10. El-Zoghby ZM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 1, 2012.
  11. Anderson CF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 24, 2012.
  12. Rethinking drinking: Alcohol and your health. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/RethinkingDrinking/Rethinking_Drinking.pdf. Accessed May 8, 2012.
  13. Dietary guidelines for Americans, 2010. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-PolicyDocument.htm. Accessed May 8, 2012.
  14. Post R (expert opinion). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, Va. Aug. 8, 2011.
DS00682 May 16, 2012

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