The onset of diabetes is not related to the kidneys, but mainly to autoimmune antibody positivity, defective islet cell function, and insulin resistance. As the disease progresses, over several years there is an effect on the kidneys, commonly diabetic nephropathy.
Renal impairment occurs in 30% to 40% of patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The main reason is that elevated blood glucose leads to microvascular lesions in the kidneys, so that small molecules of protein leak out of the blood from the kidneys, and as the amount of leakage increases, patients will gradually develop hypoproteinemia or hyperalgesia, or even progress to uremia. Therefore, patients with diabetes are more likely to develop kidney complications, and the relationship between diabetes and the kidneys is very close.
Patients diagnosed with diabetes should be treated as prescribed by their doctors, taking control of blood glucose, blood pressure, and lipid-lowering therapy. Early intervention reduces the appearance of complications and is combined with dietary therapy on the basis of medication to provide adequate calories and nutrition to promote recovery. Once diabetic nephropathy appears, the prognosis is poor.