Chronic Kidney Disease Is Rising: Why Early Detection Matters

You can feel healthy, stay active, and still have a problem developing inside your kidneys.

That is one of the most difficult realities of chronic kidney disease. During its early stages, it often causes few — or no — noticeable symptoms. Many people do not discover that their kidney function has declined until the disease has already progressed.

A recent National Geographic report on the rise of chronic kidney disease highlights the scale of the problem. More than 600 million people worldwide are living with kidney disease, representing a substantial increase since 1990. The article also reports that approximately nine out of 10 people with chronic kidney disease do not know they have it.

For adults and families in Prosper and throughout Greater Dallas-Fort Worth, the message is not that kidney disease is inevitable. It is that prevention, appropriate testing, and early intervention matter.

Why Kidney Disease Can Remain Hidden

Your kidneys work continuously to filter waste and excess fluid from your blood. They also help regulate blood pressure, balance electrolytes, support red blood cell production, and maintain the body's internal chemical balance.

Despite these important responsibilities, the kidneys can lose part of their filtering ability without producing obvious pain or other early warning signs.

As the National Geographic article explains, there is generally no distinct "kidney pain" associated with chronic kidney disease. A person may continue working, exercising, traveling, and managing everyday responsibilities while silent changes appear in blood or urine test results.

Symptoms such as fatigue, swelling, nausea, itching, shortness of breath, or changes in urination may eventually develop. However, these symptoms are not specific to kidney disease, and they may not appear until kidney function has declined significantly.

Waiting for symptoms is therefore not an effective screening strategy.

What Is Driving the Rise in Chronic Kidney Disease?

There is no single explanation for the worldwide increase in kidney disease. Several interconnected medical, environmental, and lifestyle factors may contribute.

Diabetes

High blood glucose can gradually damage the small blood vessels that form the kidneys' filtering system. Kidney damage related to diabetes may develop over many years without causing early symptoms.

People with diabetes generally need ongoing monitoring of both blood filtration and urine albumin levels. A normal result from several years ago does not necessarily reflect current kidney health.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can damage blood vessels within the kidneys. Kidney damage can then make blood pressure more difficult to control by affecting fluid, sodium, and hormone regulation.

This creates a cycle in which hypertension harms the kidneys and declining kidney function contributes to worsening hypertension.

Blood-pressure care should therefore consider more than a single number. Medication response, home readings, kidney function, urine protein, sodium balance, cardiovascular health, and other risk factors may all need to be evaluated together.

Obesity and Metabolic Conditions

Obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease frequently overlap. These are not always separate problems.

They can be part of a connected metabolic process that places increased stress on the kidneys, heart, blood vessels, and liver. Kidney protection is often more effective when the whole pattern is addressed rather than focusing on one laboratory result at a time.

Autoimmune and Genetic Conditions

Lupus, IgA nephropathy, polycystic kidney disease, and other autoimmune or inherited conditions may affect kidney function.

A family history of kidney failure, dialysis, transplantation, kidney cysts, unexplained blood in the urine, or early loss of kidney function may justify a more detailed assessment. In selected cases, genetic testing can help clarify a diagnosis and guide family screening.

Medication Exposure

Some medications can affect kidney function, especially when used frequently, at high doses, or in people who already have kidney-related risk factors.

The National Geographic report specifically discusses concerns related to the overuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly called NSAIDs, as well as some antacids.

This does not mean every person must avoid these products. It means medication use should be reviewed in the context of kidney function, hydration, age, blood pressure, and other health conditions.

Heat and Dehydration

Extreme heat and repeated dehydration may also place stress on the kidneys. This is especially relevant in North Texas, where prolonged summer heat can increase fluid loss during outdoor work, exercise, travel, and everyday activities.

Hydration needs are not identical for everyone. Patients with certain kidney, heart, or liver conditions may require individualized fluid guidance rather than a generic recommendation to drink more water.

Who Should Consider Kidney Screening?

Kidney screening may be especially important for people with:

• Diabetes or prediabetes
• High blood pressure
• Cardiovascular disease
• Obesity or metabolic syndrome
• A family history of kidney disease
• A previous episode of acute kidney injury
• Recurrent kidney stones
• Autoimmune disease
• Blood or protein previously found in the urine
• Long-term use of medications that may affect the kidneys
• Abnormal creatinine or eGFR results
• Unexplained swelling or fluid retention

Risk factors do not confirm that kidney disease is present. They help determine who may benefit from closer monitoring.

Two Tests Can Reveal Important Kidney Changes

Kidney screening often begins with one blood test and one urine test.

A Blood Test for Creatinine and eGFR

Creatinine is a waste product measured in the blood. It is used to estimate the glomerular filtration rate, commonly called eGFR.

The eGFR provides an estimate of how effectively the kidneys are filtering the blood. One result may be affected by temporary factors such as illness, hydration, medications, or changes in muscle mass. For that reason, trends over time can be more informative than an isolated number.

A Urine Albumin Test

Healthy kidney filters generally keep albumin, an important blood protein, in the bloodstream. When the filters become damaged, albumin may leak into the urine.

A urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio can help identify this leakage. Albumin in the urine may appear even before a major decline in eGFR, making urine testing an important part of early detection.

A standard physical or basic laboratory panel may not always include both tests. Patients with kidney-disease risk factors can ask whether both blood filtration and urine albumin have been evaluated.

Early Detection Creates More Options

A kidney disease diagnosis is not simply a label. It can provide an opportunity to identify what is causing the damage and determine which risks can be changed.

Depending on the individual, early treatment may involve:

• Improving blood-pressure control
• Managing diabetes and metabolic health
• Reducing protein loss in the urine
• Reviewing medications and supplements
• Adjusting sodium, protein, or other aspects of nutrition
• Correcting electrolyte or acid-base abnormalities
• Treating an autoimmune or inherited kidney disorder
• Coordinating kidney and cardiovascular care
• Monitoring kidney function more closely
• Using kidney-protective medications when clinically appropriate

The National Geographic article also describes a period of significant innovation in kidney treatment. Newer therapies are helping physicians address several common and less-common causes of kidney disease while also recognizing the close relationship between kidney and cardiovascular health.

These treatments are not appropriate for every patient, and no medication replaces a complete evaluation. The important point is that identifying disease earlier may create more opportunities to preserve kidney function.

Kidney and Heart Health Should Not Be Separated

Chronic kidney disease is closely connected to cardiovascular health.

The kidneys influence blood pressure, blood volume, electrolyte levels, inflammation, and blood-vessel function. At the same time, the heart must provide the blood flow the kidneys need to operate effectively.

When one system begins to struggle, the other may be affected.

This is why kidney care should not occur in isolation. A thoughtful plan may need to account for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, fluid retention, liver health, medications, weight, and overall cardiovascular risk.

For patients managing several chronic conditions, coordination among physicians is especially important. Conflicting advice about medication, fluid intake, blood-pressure goals, or nutrition can create confusion and unnecessary risk.

A Normal Result Is a Moment in Time

Kidney health can change.

A previous normal result does not guarantee that kidney function will remain normal, particularly when diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, medication exposure, or family history is present.

Likewise, one abnormal result does not always mean permanent kidney damage. Dehydration, an acute illness, infection, medication effects, or urinary obstruction can temporarily alter kidney function.

The pattern matters:

• Is eGFR stable, improving, or declining?
• Is albumin present in the urine?
• Has blood pressure become harder to control?
• Are electrolytes changing?
• Have medications recently been added or adjusted?
• Is there a family pattern that deserves further evaluation?

Careful interpretation requires context, follow-up, and enough time to examine the full picture.

Conclusion: Do Not Wait for Kidney Disease to Become Obvious

Chronic kidney disease may be silent, but it is not invisible.

Blood and urine testing can identify changes before severe symptoms or kidney failure develop. For people with diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, metabolic conditions, a family history of kidney problems, or previous abnormal results, proactive screening may be one of the most valuable steps toward protecting long-term health.

At NephronMD, kidney care is calm, personal, and unhurried. Our board-certified nephrologists provide comprehensive testing, individualized chronic kidney disease management, and integrated kidney, cardiovascular, hepatic, and metabolic care.

We serve patients and families throughout Greater DFW, including Prosper, Frisco, McKinney, Plano, Allen, Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, Richardson, Irving, and Arlington.

Contact NephronMD to request a comprehensive kidney health evaluation and gain a clearer understanding of your kidney function, risk factors, and options for prevention.

Source: Fairbank, Rachel. "This Disease Is on the Rise — and Many People Don't Know That They Have It." National Geographic, September 3, 2025.