Chronic kidney disease occurs when a disease or condition impairs kidney function, causing kidney damage to worsen over several months or years.  Diseases and conditions that cause chronic kidney disease include:

• Type 1 or type 2 diabetes 
• high blood pressure 
• Glomerulonephritis (gloe-mer-u-low-nuh-FRY-tis), an inflammation of the kidney's filtering units (glomeruli) 
• Interstitial nephritis (in-tur-STISH-ul nuh-FRY-tis), an inflammation of the kidney's tubules and surrounding structures 
• Polycystic kidney disease or other inherited kidney diseases 
• Prolonged obstruction of the urinary tract from conditions such as enlarged prostate, kidney stones, and some cancers 
• Vesicoureteral (ves-ih-koe-yoo-REE-tur-ul) reflux, a condition that causes urine to back up into your kidneys 
• recurrent kidney infection, also called pyelonephritis (pie-uh-low-nuh-FRY-tis) 

There are risk factors factors that can increase your risk of chronic kidney disease include:

• Diabetes 
• high blood pressure
• Heart (cardiovascular) Disease 
• smoking 
• obesity 
• being Black, Native American, or Asian American 
• family history of kidney disease 
• abnormal kidney structure 
• older age 
• frequent use of medications that can damage the kidneys 

Chronic kidney disease can affect almost every part of the body. Potential complications include:

• fluid retention, which could lead to swelling in arms and legs, high blood pressure, or fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema) 
• a sudden rise in potassium levels in the blood (hyperkalemia), which could impair heart function and can be life-threatening 
• Anemia 
• Heart Disease 
• weak bones and an increased risk of bone fractures 
• decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction, or reduced fertility 
• damage to the central nervous system, which can cause difficulty concentrating, personality changes, or seizures 
• decreased immune response, which makes people more vulnerable to infection 
• Pericarditis, an inflammation of the saclike membrane that envelops the heart (pericardium) 
• pregnancy complications that carry risks for the mother and the developing fetus 
• irreversible damage to the kidneys (end-stage kidney disease), eventually requiring either dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival 

To reduce your risk of developing kidney disease:  

• Follow instructions on over-the-counter medications. 
• When using nonprescription pain relievers, such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), follow the instructions on the package. 
• Taking too many pain relievers for a long time could lead to kidney damage, so people should limit their use.
• Maintain a healthy weight. If you're at a healthy weight, maintain it by being physically active most days of the week. If you need to lose weight, talk with your doctor about strategies for healthy weight loss. 
• Don't smoke. Cigarette smoking can damage your kidneys and make existing kidney damage worse. If you're a smoker, talk to your doctor about strategies for quitting. Support groups, counseling, and medications all can help you to stop. 
• Manage your medical conditions with your doctor's help. If you have diseases or conditions that increase your risk of kidney disease, work with your doctor to control them. 
• Ask your doctor about tests to look for signs of kidney damage.