Associated conditions

There are a number of conditions that can affect the kidneys and lead to kidney disease. Diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure) are the primary causes of the disease [28715]. Other conditions include:

• glomerulonephritis, a group of diseases that cause inflammation and damage to the filtering units of the kidneys
• inherited diseases like polycystic kidney disease which cause cysts to grow on the kidneys and damage surrounding tissue
• abnormalities that take place as a baby develops during pregnancy which may result in urine flowing back up to the kidneys causing infection and damage
• lupus nephritis and other diseases which affect the body’s immune system
• blockages caused by kidney stones or tumours
• repeated infections of the urinary tract
• scabies infections [45152][39742][34716].