Can Chronic Kidney Disease Be Passed Down

Can Chronic Kidney Disease be passed down from generation to generation? Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can run to kidney failure and then push patients into dialysis or kidney transplant directly. It can not be cured, so many people with parents suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease wonder if they will inherit kidney problem from their parents.

Chronic Kidney Disease actually is the generic term of all kinds of chronic kidney problem. It can be primary or secondary. According to causes or the type of injury, CKD can be divided to different types like Diabetic Nephropathy, Hypertensive Nephropathy, IgA Nephropathy, Focal Segmental Glomerulous Sclerosis (FSGS) and Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) and so on. Among these kidney problems, only PKD can be passed down from generation to generation.

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a genetic kidney disorder characterized by countless cysts in kidney. These cysts enlarge over time and they cause kidney damages directly. For people with one of the parents suffering from PKD, they have 50% chance to develop this kidney problem. And if unfortunately both of their parents are PKD sufferer, their risk of developing Polycystic Kidney Disease will be as high as 75%. PKD can not be cured, but with timely diagnosis and proper treatment method, patient’s kidney function can be improved an kidney failure can be avoided effectively.

Polycystic Kidney Disease is the most common inherited kidney problem. Except PKD, almost all the other common Chronic Kidney Disease like IgA Nephropathy, Diabetic Nephropathy, Hypertensive Nephropathy and Nephritis are not genetic. But according to clinic survey, people with relatives suffer from Chronic Kidney Disease are more likely to suffer from kidney problem, compared with others. Besides, Diabetes and Hypertension are the leading two causes for Chronic Kidney Disease and they account for about 65% of all the causes. Therefore, for people with Diabetes, Hypertension or relatives suffering from CKD , they should pay speical or much more attention to their kidney.

Since Chronic Kidney Disease can not be passed down from generation to generation, it can be prevented effectively. To get far away from chronic kidney problem, people generally need to develop good living habits, do physical exercises regularly, have a regular eating habits and do physical examination regularly. As long as we take overall preventive measures, our risk for Chronic Kidney Disease can be lowered greatly.