How quickly does chronic kidney disease get worse?

In this article we will discuss how quickly does chronic kidney disease get worse.

The short, and unsatisfying, answer to this question is .. it depends [“thanks, thought you might say that!” CKDEx].

And it is very variable – it can be months, years or decades. or never. It is usually (usually) slow(ish).

Chronic kidney disease progression has been studied extensively, but the majority of studies have focussed on the causes of kidney function decline; and the likelihood of CKD to progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRF, or kidney failure) – not necessarily the speed of that progression.

Infographic of progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by the CDC

This infographic is by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Note. This diagram is misleading. Not all patients progress from left to right. You can go the other way or stabilise

What are indicators of fast kidney disease progression?

Whilst the rate of disease progression will be different for everyone, indicators of faster progression include:

Hypertension (high blood pressure)

High blood pressure is the single most important factor that accelerates the rate of progression of CKD – so you should make this a primary focus
Proteinuria (higher than normal amounts of protein in urine)
Chronic heart failure (CHF)
Anaemia (insufficient oxygen-carrying red blood cells)
Low serum albumin (low levels of the protein albumin in the blood)
Age of under 65 years, especially if you have diabetes
Longer duration of diabetes before diagnosis
Black or Asian ethnicity.

There are other factors linked to a faster progression of CKD:

Previous episode(s) of Acute kidney injury (AKI)
Smoking
Male sex.

OK OK. But what can I do to slow the progression of my CKD?

There are many steps you can take to slow your CKD progression and protect your kidneys. They are described on CKDEx here:

Note. Whilst they are particularly effective when implemented in the early stages, they are helpful no matter what stage of the disease you are in.

Does CKD get better?

Yes, it can do. In fact, in this large Canadian study, advancing age, CKD regression (getting better) or death (i.e. die with it, not from it) were more likely than CKD progression or kidney failure: Liu, 2021.

Summary

We have (rather unsatisfactorily) answered the question, how quickly does chronic kidney disease get worse. Nonetheless, we hope it has been helpful.

Other resource

What is the outlook for CKD?

Last Reviewed on 25 June 2024