Signs & Symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease in Women

Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic disease affecting kidney structure and kidney functions due to gradual and continuous enlargement and increase of fluid-filled cysts in the kidney.

PKD is an autosomal genetic disease and the male and female have equal incidence according to its hereditary mode. PKD is a chronically progressive disease and it can be divided into several stages according to the severity of the illness conditions. Often patients will have obvious symptoms and discomforts in their 30s to 50s because PKD usually experience a rapid growth period in this time. Usually men have more severe conditions than female and this might relate to unhealthy life habits. For example, there are more smokers and drinkers among male than female and they tend to take more strenuous jobs.

However there are more female are found having PKD. The following are signs and symptoms of polycystic kidney disease in women.

1. Back pain or flank pain. It is the most common sign of PKD and it is more common in female patients. The pain will become more and more severe along with aging and gradual cyst enlargement.

2. Blood urine. More than 90% cases have cyst bleeding or gross hematuria and this might be caused by vascular rupture, kidney stone, infections or even tumor. It can be spontaneous or appear after strenuous activities or physical traumas. Women have menstruations which should be first ruled out.

3. High blood pressure. It is the early symptoms of PKD and among young patients that have normal kidney functions, there are about half have increased blood pressure of higher than 140/90mmHg and in end stage PKD patients, nearly all suffer from hypertension. The level of blood pressure is closely related to kidney volume, number of cysts and age.

4. Frequent urinary tract infections. Cyst infection and urinary tract infection are the common complications of PKD. Women are more susceptible to infections in urinary system and this is a great risk factor.

There are one more thing most young female PKD patients concern is pregnancy. Though pregnancy is not strictly prohibited for PKD patients, it will definitely have certain impact on worsening the illness conditions. Usually if the patients are normal in kidney functions and the blood pressure is well controlled, they can give birth to babies. But during the pregnancy, close and regular tests need to be done to measure the gravida’s blood pressure and kidney functions.