The basics
What Is Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)? Causes, Symptoms and Stages
This article is general information. Your nephrologist or renal dietitian knows your lab results and can tell you what is right for you.
Chronic kidney disease, usually shortened to CKD, is a long-term condition in which the kidneys are damaged or have a structural problem that keeps them from filtering blood properly. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), waste and extra fluid can then build up in the body.
How common is CKD?
NIDDK estimates that more than 35 million adults in the United States, more than 1 in 7, have CKD, citing CDC data. The CDC describes the figure as roughly 15% of U.S. adults. CKD is less common in children. In a 2021 press release the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) said that about 90 percent of people with CKD do not know they have it, which is one reason testing matters.
Common causes and risk factors
NIDDK names diabetes and high blood pressure as the most common causes of CKD in adults. Other risk factors it lists include heart and blood vessel disease and a family history of kidney disease. The risk rises with age, and with the number of years a person has lived with diabetes, high blood pressure or heart and blood vessel disease.
Less common causes include autoimmune conditions such as lupus, polycystic kidney disease, kidney infections and some medicines that are toxic to the kidneys. Your own care team can tell you what applies in your situation.
You can read more about two of the main causes in High Blood Pressure, Diabetes and Your Kidneys.
Symptoms
NIDDK states that most people have no symptoms in the early stages of CKD, and many have none until the disease is advanced. Blood and urine tests are often the only way to find it. When symptoms do appear in advanced CKD, they can include swelling, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, itching, muscle cramps and changes in urination. See Early Signs and Symptoms of CKD for the full picture.
How CKD is found
Two main tests are used: a blood test that estimates how well the kidneys filter (the estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR) and a urine test for albumin, a protein that leaks into urine when the kidneys are damaged. NIDDK says people with diabetes should be checked every year, and that people with high blood pressure, heart disease or a family history of kidney failure should ask their provider how often to be tested. Our guide Kidney Function Tests: eGFR, Creatinine and ACR Explained goes through them one by one.
Stages of CKD
CKD is described in five stages, based mainly on eGFR, with urine albumin adding detail. Stage 1 means normal kidney function with possible signs of kidney damage; stage 5 means kidney failure. The stages are explained in CKD Stages 1 to 5 Explained.
Can CKD be treated?
NIDDK says advanced, long-lasting CKD generally cannot be reversed, but finding it earlier makes it possible to take steps that protect the kidneys. The goals it describes are keeping the filtering rate stable and keeping urine albumin the same or lower. Common areas of care include blood pressure, blood sugar in people with diabetes, regular monitoring, medicines chosen by the care team, nutrition and physical activity. What is right for one person is not necessarily right for another, so decisions belong with your nephrologist or doctor.
If you have just been told you have CKD, Newly Diagnosed With CKD: Your First Steps collects what official sources suggest as a starting point.
Related reading
Sources
- NIDDK: What Is Chronic Kidney Disease in Adults? (reviewed February 2025)
- NIDDK: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), all content
- CDC: Chronic Kidney Disease
- National Kidney Foundation: Diabetes is Focus for National Kidney Month (press release, 2021)
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