Certified Hemodialysis Technician Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Exam Success

Diabetes is recognized as the leading cause of chronic kidney failure in the United States. This condition, particularly when poorly managed, can lead to diabetic nephropathy, a type of kidney damage that develops as a result of high blood sugar levels over time. When individuals have diabetes, elevated glucose levels can damage the blood vessels in the kidneys, impairing their ability to filter waste and excess fluids from the body efficiently. This progressive damage can ultimately lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and, in severe cases, kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplantation.

While hypertension, polycystic kidney disease, and glomerulonephritis are important factors contributing to kidney disease, they do not have the same prevalence or impact as diabetes in developing chronic kidney failure. Hypertension often coexists with diabetes and can exacerbate kidney damage, but it is diabetes that is consistently identified as the primary underlying condition leading to the most cases of CKD in the general population.