Associated conditions

There are a number of conditions that can affect the kidneys and lead to kidney disease. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the primary associated condition is diabetic kidney disease [47770].

Examples of other associated conditions include:

• glomerular diseases (conditions that cause damage to the filtering units of the kidneys)
• hypertension (high blood pressure) and renal vascular disease (conditions affecting the blood flow into and out of the kidneys)
• inherited diseases like polycystic kidney disease which causes cysts to grow on the kidneys and damage surrounding tissue
• autoimmune conditions such as lupus nephritis (inflammation of the blood vessels that filter waste in your kidneys)
• infections, including scabies
• repeated infections of the urinary tract
• kidney stones or tumours
• hydronephrosis (swelling of the kidneys)
• abnormalities that take place as a baby develops during pregnancy [47770][39742][45152][34716][45030][48878][48880][48879].