Switch: Kidney Disease Can Lead to Diabetes

TUESDAY, Dec. 26, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Kidney disease increases the risk for diabetes, a new study finds.

Medical experts already knew that the reverse is true -- that diabetesincreases the risk for kidney disease. The authors of the new study, though, found that kidney dysfunction can lead to diabetes -- and, that a waste product called urea plays a role in the two-way link between the two diseases.

Urea comes from the breakdown of protein in food. Kidneys normally remove urea from the blood, but poor kidney function can lead to increased levels of urea.

The study involved the analysis of medical records over a five-year period for 1.3 million adults who did not have diabetes. About 9 percent had elevated urea levels, a sign of reduced kidney function. That's the same rate as in the general population, according to the researchers.

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