What Is It?

Diabetic nephropathy is kidney disease that is a complication of diabetes. It can occur in people with type 2 diabetes, the most common diabetes type, or in people with type 1 diabetes, the type that begins at an early age and requires insulin. Up to 40 percent of people with type 1 diabetes eventually develop significant kidney disease, which sometimes requires dialysis or a kidney transplant. A much smaller percentage of people with type 2 diabetes develop kidney disease.

Diabetic nephropathy is caused by damage to the tiniest blood vessels. As kidney disease progresses, proteins leak into the urine, and the kidneys gradually lose their ability to remove waste products from the blood.

see Diabetic nephropathy

Diseases and Conditions Center

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