Diabetes is a serious health concern, affecting the blood sugar levels of sufferers. It can also cause a variety of related health problems and can negatively affect the wellbeing of those affected in many other areas. A new study has revealed, however, that there is one area of wellness that is rarely considered, but which can be adversely affected by diabetes: the kidneys.
Kidney problems claim more lives than have previously been suspected, according to a new study conducted at the University of Washington. This little-known complication of diabetes is actually the reason behind the majority of deaths from diabetes. Kidney disease is an extremely serious and often fatal health condition.
The research team at the University of Washington entered into the study, looking at 15,046 adults, some of whom had kidney disease and some of whom did not. They looked into the 10-year rates of mortality amongst the group, in an attempt to assess how much of a part diabetes played to the risk of dying from kidney disease.
It has already been shown that those who suffer from type 2 diabetes are at a greater risk of death than those without the disease. In addition to this, many diabetes patients also have heart-disease related problems.
The study revealed that an astounding 42.3 percent of diabetics suffer from kidney disease. This contrasts sharply with just 9.4 percent of those who did not have diabetes. Researchers found that the presence of kidney disease was the strongest predictor of premature death amongst diabetics.
Amongst diabetics, those who also had kidney disease were at a greater risk of dying from the kidney problems. This was a mortality rate of around 31.1 percent of those who also had diabetes and kidney disease, as opposed to a much lower figure of 11.5 percent of those who only had diabetes.
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