What causes kidney failure?
There are a number of known causes of kidney failure but in quite a lot of people the cause is never found. The commonest causes are diabetes, high blood pressure and a painless inflammation of the kidneys called glomerulonephritis. There is a progressive loss of the filtering units (nephrons) in the kidney.
Other common causes are the inherited condition of cysts in the kidneys (polycystic kidney disease); repeated kidney infections or kidney infections (pyelonephritis) in childhood; and obstruction to the urine flow.
A quick summary of the common causes of kidney failure:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Glomerulonephritis
- Polycystic kidney disease
- Scarring from kidney infection in childhood
- Obstruction
For more information see Specific kidney disorders