Kidneys
Your kidneys are responsible for cleaning your blood of any toxins which pass out of the body as urine, regulating your fluid and salt balance and they also release hormones.
This balance of salts and fluids are an important function as they help control blood pressure. Persistent high blood glucose levels damage the membranes around the small blood vessels of the kidneys which means they don’t work as well at filtering out the waste products in our blood.
This is known as diabetic kidney disease or ‘diabetic nephropathy’. Kidney disease tends to happen gradually, over many years. This is why you have your kidney function checked as part of your diabetes care.
Kidney disease is treated and prevented by controlling your blood pressure and blood glucose levels. In some rare cases, kidney function can deteriorate so much that kidney dialysis might be necessary and some may have a kidney transplant.
To find out more about diabetes and kidneys have a look at our resources below.
Advanced Search
Resource type -
Language -
Type of diabetes -
This page contains a brief overview of the effects of diabetes on the kidneys.
Diabetes and Your Kidneys
Diabetes UK resource about kidney disease (or diabetic nephropathy). It can happen to anyone, but it's much more common in people with diabetes and people with high blood pressure.
