Diabetes Increases Death Risk In Patients On Dialysis [STUDY]

Scientists have found that the risk of death is higher for diabetics on haemodialysis. Kidney disease can be a silent killer. Before symptoms are noticed by the patient, the kidneys can degenerate to the point of not working and diabetes only makes it worse.

The final stage of a chronic kidney disease, known as end stage renal disease, is when the kidneys are unable to remove wastes and excess fluids from the body. If the health deteriorate to this point patients are then put on dialysis or advised to go for a kidney transplant.

A team of senior doctors analyzed the case sheets of 897 patients, including 268 women, who were on haemodialysis from 2003 to 2009 from five medical centers. The doctors found that more patients with diabetes died when compared to those without diabetes, and only few underwent renal transplants.

People with long term diabetes may have multiple complications capable of preventing them from having a renal transplant.

According to the study, 335 patients were diabetic and the analysis of survival rates showed that 47% of the people with diabetes died when compared to 32% non-diabetic patients. It also states that 137 patients 31 diabetics underwent a renal transplant and at least 10 were transferred to another form of dialysis called peritoneal dialysis, while 234 died during follow up, according to Times of India.

Patient case sheets were gotten from Chennai-based Kilpauk Medical College, Madras Tamil Nadu Kidney Research (TANKER) Foundation, Medical Mission Hospital, Research Center in Madurai, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Science, Puducherry and Meenakshi Mission Hospital.

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two major causes of kidney disease as data from the Indian registry show that up to 31 percent of all chronic kidney disease is caused by complications from diabetes.

Up to 30 percent of patients with Type 1 diabetes and 10 - 40 percent of patients with Type 2 diabetes will eventually suffer from kidney failure, according to National Kidney Foundation.

"Due to scarce renal transplant facilities and poor survival rates of diabetic patients, prevention, early detection and management of diabetic CKD patients should be the way to go forward," senior nephrologists, Dr Georgi Abraham says.

Patients with diabetes respond slowly to treatments and the disorder itself can worsen kidney diseases, senior nephrologists said. The findings of the study published in the Clinical Kidney Journal concluded that diabetic patients have low survival rates on haemodialysis, especially those from poor socioeconomic groups.